Technology Benefits Article

This is a great article that I found about incorporating technology into the classroom. Many teachers or future teachers such as myself are hesitant to bring technology into the classroom because we are afraid we don’t know how to use it well enough and the students will know more than we do.  This is a very strong possibility, however as this article points out, the students can also be great teachers of technology as well.  The students and teacher will not only gain a better understanding of technology, but it puts the student in a more active role to be learning more about the subject as well.  Teachers have reported an increase in self-esteem and motivation.  Many students even work on technology based projects during their free periods due to the fact that the use of technology is fun and more appealing to them. This was not just at a high school level; students at the elementary level were able to gain a great deal of knowledge about computer programs.  They can easily do this in a school computer lab and accomplish more complex tasks than they could in a regular classroom.  Or given only a few computers in a classroom, the students can be broken up into groups to work on projects where the more technology savvy students can be helping and coaching the others.  This allows for more cooperation and group learning which is an important part of any classroom and society as a whole.  By teaching technology and group learning and cooperation at such a young age we will be able to create more effective citizens which should be everyone’s goal as future teachers.

Here's a link to the article, enjoy!

http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html