Technology in the classroom

Technology in the classroom

Greetings bloggers, in today’s post I will be talking about technology and its place in the classroom, as well as giving an insight as to some of the dangers of technology in the classroom.

We cannot escape the fact that technology is becoming more and more common in the classroom, and I’m not talking about ICT lessons, interactive white boards, iPads and laptops are not uncommon to find in almost every primary school classroom. This rise in the popularity of technology in the classroom is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced; change can be a scary thing in the education system, but technology is advancing fast and we need to ensure that we do not let foundation phase pupils get left behind, give them the digital competency they need to have a fighting chance in the world of work

Whilst I was studying my A levels I did work experience in a year 6 class of a primary school I used to go to, when I was in that school there was little to no technology or electronic resource, we had a little computer suite with computers that were way before their time even then. When I went back to that school for work experience I was amazed to how much it had changed in regards how many electronic resources were available, it then got me thinking, the year six class I was teaching would’ve been a class that experience white boards and text books as I did, but they also have experienced how technology changes lessons.

I remember asking pupils around the room if they think using the iPads and interactive white boards were better and of course they all agreed, why wouldn’t they, I believe using iPads in the classroom can be extremely beneficial if executed correctly, I will now list pros of technology in the classroom

Pros

Inclusion- Technology not only comes in the form of iPads and whiteboards, but in things like mobility, you can get pieces of technology that augment people with severe physical disabilities and enable them to write and even talk.

Making learning more fun- It is obvious that a child would choose to have an iPad in front of them over a book, even if the exact same thing is being displayed, I think this is because of a few different reasons. Colours are far more vivid on an electronic device, which really captivates children and makes whatever they are looking at less dull than a book, you can interact with the page and zoom in and out, which can not only be more entertaining, but can be more practically useful for children with visual impairments.

Learning life skills- in the future, almost all jobs are going to require some form of digital competency, and I believe having technology actively used in the classroom in the foundation phase will set the groundwork for that. Technology also has an impact on new topics that can be taught in schools, many schools have welcomed coding and learning computer languages into the classroom which is something that was unheard of when I was primary school. Children and young people cannot just be consumers of technology, it is important to teach them the knowledge and skills required to understand how technology works, in order to be digitally competent in an ever-changing workforce.

As you can see there are some strong pros to having technology in the classroom, I will now explore some of the cons of having technology in the classroom

Cons

Cost- obviously this technology is going to be expensive for schools, iPads can set you back £600 a piece, which means children may need to share, 3 children to an iPad for example, but this has more implications than you think. (Bergen D. 199) Says that teachers may have to rethink their more group orientated approach in order to adopt a more individualized approach to learning, Bergen says this in a negative light, but I see it not as con because you need to rethink your teaching strategy, but as a pro, because if your teaching style is more individualised, you’re ensuring more pupils are learning at the same pace and nobody is getting left behind.

Fake news- Social media as a massive part of any young person’s life and fake news is everywhere. Fake news is not only purposely false news, but its false news made to look as authentic as possible, and without further exploration of a posts sources, young people can easily believe anything they read which can influence their minds, and their research. Sites like Wikipedia which is not strictly a fake news site, but a site of which anybody can edit can be dangerous to a young person’s research and this means that skills like source evaluation will need to be taught at a younger age which I suppose in the long run could have positive implications.

E-Safety- This ties directly in with social media, anyone can find anything out about you if you’re not careful through social media so again, new skills will need to be taught to ensure children are safe online.

A reoccurring theme throughout the cons of technology in the classroom is new skills needing to be learnt and not to contradict myself but the new skills that would need to be learned to be digitally competent are skills that can be used throughout life, source evaluation and keeping myself safe online are skills I use almost every day.

In conclusion, I think it is fair to say that technology is not going anywhere and therefore should be embraced and exploited in the most positive way. Pedagogy needs to be revisited and lessons need to incorporate technology

References

Doris Bergen (1999) ‘Technology in the Classroom’ Childhood Education 76 (2) pp.116-118

Graham Donaldson (2015) ‘Successful Futures’ Available at: file:///D:/Donaldson%20Report%20-%20Successful%20Futures%20-%20Independent%20Review%20of%20Curriculum%20and%20Assessment%20Arrangements%20in%20Wales%20(1).pdf (Accessed 8/12/17)