The more I learn about not only education, but teaching the more I want to learn how to help them incorporate technology in the classroom. An educational tool that is “far more likely to consist of a student-initiated environment where students participated in not only teacher-led instruction but also student instruction in the form of computer work groups” (Page, p. 403) is an ideal environment to develop lifelong learners. An educational setting that encourages and nurtures student-initiated learning is a skill that all students will need as the progress from students to active members of the workforce. I believe that professional development is key in the incorporation of technology in the classroom, and it is up to the professional development coordinators to ensure that it is relevant, and easily integrated into practical application.
Another interesting finding is that “although the relative disadvantage of girls is a regularity of the technology literature, girls and boys did not differ in achievement, access, or use of computers in the West Virginia study.” (Schacter, p. 6) As a female and a mother to a precocious Second grader, I am glad to see that this gap in performance may be more of a cultural myth, rather than based on fact.
References
Page, M. S. (2002). Technology-enriched classrooms: Effects on students of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 389-409. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from the International Society of Education at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Number_4_Summer_20021&Template=?MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=830
Schacter, J. (1999). The impact of education technology on student achievement: What the most current research has to say. Santa Monica, CA: Milken Exchange on Education Technology. Retrieved from http://www.mff.org/pubs/ME161.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment