Callie DwyerEDU 222 Final Reflection

When and How Should Technology be used in the Classroom?

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Technology use is growing and being incorporated into the classroom at rising rates. The

use of technology in the classroom has many benefits and can revolutionize how students learn

and complete their work in school. The use of technology in schools also sets students up for

the future. It is inevitable that they will use technology in some capacity in their future careers.

Students in schools today are even learning how to code. This is a new program being

incorporated into schools which is setting students up for success and giving them

opportunities to take advantage of the constantly growing number of jobs in the coding and

computer science field. In the elementary grades, students learn coding through games and

these games have themes including Elsa, which promotes girls’ interest in the field. This is of

great advantage for girls, because the coding and computer science field is predominantly male.

Allowing all students to practice and be exposed to coding when they are young, will help to

empower girls to feel as though they can take on jobs in this field and get them interested in it.

The coding website has a number of games students can choose from. Having choice ensures

students can find something they like which enables them to be more engaged in the task and

motivated to learn.

The use of technology in general, motivates and engages students. In today’s times,

students spend large amounts of time outside of school either on smart phones or playing

video games. Thus, bringing technology into the class and making quizzes and assessment

games with sites like Quizizz, get students excited and interested in the task. Taking a pencil

and paper quiz is stressful and boring. However, taking an online one that incorporates images,

avatars, and allows students to earn points and compete against their classmates, is fun and

engaging. However, it is essential to ensure that students are not falsely engaged. Students

shouldn’t be more focused on the technology than the instruction task they are being asked to

complete. Technology should be used to enhance instruction, not take attention away from it.

When assessing if technology is beneficial in the classroom, evaluate it to determine if it

is engaging and if it enhances and extends instruction. It is essential for technology use to be

engaging or students will not be motivated to complete the task and learn. Technology should

also enhance instruction. The instruction should not revolve around the use of technology but

rather the use of technology should help the students to understand and access content

instruction. Technology use should also have that ability to extend learning outside of the

classroom. This helps all students to better grasp the information and allows students to have

as many exposures as they need to master concepts.

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Technology use can also help to close the achievement gap. Technology and resources

use to be thought of as something only wealthier school districts would have assess to.

However, now the majority of schools have access to some technological resources regardless

of their socioeconomic status. For example, many screen casting tools are free and with these,

teachers can make “how to” videos that explain content to students. These videos can be used

to create a flipped classroom or just be made available to students as content reinforcers. With

these videos available, students can review them as many times as needed and the video

information is also provided visually and auditorily, making it easier for students to process and

remember. The versatility helps to ensure information is presented in a way that students can

understand and comprehend it.

Technology also provides students with many ways to express what they know. It

provides a way to incorporate project-based learning with all the storyboarding and

presentation tools available to them. Some of these include, LittleBird Tales, Toontastic 3D,

Book Creator, Pear Deck, Sway and many more. Technology integration can help with Universal

Design for Learning, and the use of technology can help students to access information in a

variety of ways. Students can also use a variety of technological tools to express their

knowledge in many forms and the differentiation allows each student to become interested,

engaged and motivated in the learning process. Giving students variability, helps them to be

successful.

Students also need a supportive and positive classroom environment in which to work if

they are to succeed. There are technology programs that can help with classroom

management, like Class Dojo and programs like Too Noisy. Some of these classroom

management tools also help teachers communicate with parents, promoting a home/school

partnership. Technology integration in general can also help with this partnership. A key

element in technology integration is that it extends student learning outside the classroom. This

enables parents to be more involved in their child’s learning and be able to help them create

projects online as well as see completed projects; all of which helps them to feel more involved

in their child’s education. Not only does technology help with parent/school partnerships but it

also facilitates positive relationships between students. It has been proven that co-use is best

for students when using technology. Allowing students to collaborate and discover how to use

technology together causes them to create positive relationships with classmates. Peer

collaboration is an important part of any classroom and helps not just promotes students’

understanding of content knowledge but helps improve their social skills, which many children

today lack because of the amount of time they spend on technology outside of school and the

lack of face to face conversation and collaboration.

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Technology integration into the classroom has many benefits and because of this, I will

use a variety of technological tools in my future classroom. I will include many of the programs

already discussed like, coding, Quizizz, Too Noisy (depending on the age of my students), and a

variety of presentation tools. Other tools I am likely to include are Google Classroom,

PowerPoints, Drill and Practice Sites, and Screen Casting for the purpose of a flipped classroom

or as concept reinforcers. I will use Google Classroom to keep everything organized and in one

place. Students will be able to see their assignments online so there can be no “I lost the

assignment” excuse. Students can also not forget their assignment at home or school because

they will be able to access it from any computer anywhere. With Google Classroom, if the

students are young, I would ensure parents also know the username and password for their

child’s account so they could see what their child is working on, if they are meeting the

expectations, and check if their child has completed and turned in the work. This will help the

student to be successful because they have my support at school and hopefully parent support

at home pushing them toward a common goal of success in school.

In order for students to be successful, they need to be challenged but not to the point of

frustration. Tasks needs to be within student’s zone of proximal development. With drill and

practice sites like Spelling City, students can be assigned different tasks, depending on their

level. This allows all students to be successful and since it is online, they will be less likely to

compare their work with a classmate’s and feel bad about the fact they are at a lower level.

These programs are also great for ELLs. It can be hard as a teacher to give all students individual

attention and instruction. Programs like Spelling City have the capability to support ELLs and not

require the teacher to be there and working with them one on one. Drill and Practice Sites are

also a great way to differentiate instruction and ensure all students will be successful.

In order to promote students’ success, I will use carefully designed PowerPoints and

ActivInspire Presentations to share information to the class. I will ensure there is no more than

one idea, conveyed in minimal words on each slide. I will elaborate on slide content orally and

use presenter notes while teaching so I don’t forget important details. Furthermore, I will make

the title of the slides smaller than the information, in order to draw students’ attention to the

important information. I can also use color to accomplish this. I will also ensure that the content

is interactive, so students aren’t bored and tune out during the instruction, ActivInspire

Presentations are really good for this. In the future, I will also screen record PowerPoints and

make them available to students as concept reinforcers. I will also use Screencast-O-Matic

which is a screen casting program that allows the teacher to record parts of their screen, which

is very beneficial and prevents students from seeing other information teachers may have on

their personal computers. I will ensure my slide design prevents cognitive overload and explains

the information orally as well visually to the students. Parents can also watch these videos, so

they have the knowledge necessary to help their children with homework and be involved in

their education.

Another way I will use technology is to connect students with people across the world.

For example, if we are learning about The Great Wall of China, I would use a video chat in order

to connect students with a historian in China who works with the Great Wall. This gives

students a purpose for their learning. They will have to think of questions and have a

conversation with an expert, so they too must be knowledgeable. We watched a video in class

where a teacher used technology in this way and all students were engaged and they clearly

benefitted from the experience.

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Overall, when used correctly, the use of technology is very beneficial in classrooms. It

helps all students to access information and express what they know. Technology also helps to

differentiate instruction. Technology should never be the focus of instruction but rather be a

supplement to it. In order to assess if a technological tool is beneficial in the classroom, assess it

using the Triple E Framework. Using technology in classrooms not only sets students up for

success in school but success in the future. Technology is ever growing and advancing. It will

have an unimaginable impact on students’ futures. As a result, it is essential to educate

students on the types of technology that are out there as well as teach them how to use it

safely. Using technology in classrooms does not just help to teach content knowledge but skills

students will use for the rest of their lives.

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Works Cited: “Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education.” Office of Educational Technology, Jan. 2017, pp. 1–111., tech.ed.gov.