Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

            One of the requirements that comes along with being enrolled in Education courses is the obligation to complete field work in local schools. This semester, I had to complete forty hours of observations for my Education 377 and Education 360 courses. I completed these hours at Dobbs Ferry Middle School and Dobbs Ferry High School because I am a secondary education major. Technology played an important role in the classrooms in the Dobbs Ferry School District. Dobbs Ferry has a one to one laptop program; every student is provided with their own laptop to use in throughout the school day. Each classroom is also equipped with a Smart Board. The teachers use the Smart Boards to engage students in the classroom. One way they engage students is by creating multimedia presentations while lecturing. Students also work with Google Classroom regularly. Students are able to complete their assignments and then the teachers can access the work they completed as a form of assessment. The teachers also use the technology to prepare students for exams. While reviewing for an exam in a Global 9 class, the teacher used Kahoot! To go over the content in a fun way that utilizes technology.

            My high school experience provided me with access to different types of technology as well. I attended school in the Putnam Valley Central School District. The Putnam Valley School District also implemented a one to one laptop program and had Smart Boards in every classroom. From the time that I was in sixth grade, I had my own laptop and had the opportunity to work with different software such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Smart Notebook. I think that having access to these different technological tools in high school has been beneficial to me as an education major because I am already familiar with a lot of the programs that are used to create engaging lessons.

            The article addresses the fact that many of the current teachers working in school do not take advantage of technology. Katrina Schwartz writes, “Only half of the current working teachers believe they can use technology to motivate students to learn, compared to 75 percent of incoming teachers. Only 17 percent of current teachers believe technology can help students deeply explore their own ideas, compared to 59 percent of incoming teachers. And 26 percent of current teachers believe students use technology to apply knowledge to problem-solving, compared to 64 percent of aspiring teachers.” Many of the current teachers do not think that technology is effective because they do not have the proper training in the ways that technology can be used to engage students. Also, teachers currently working may be older and not as familiar with technology ad the incoming teachers. Technology has been a part of incoming teachers’ entire lives. Many of these incoming teachers have also had technology incorporated in their own schooling experience. Therefore, teachers currently working are more skeptical to the use of technology in the classroom because it may be unfamiliar to them.

            Principles have expectation for incoming teachers. Principals expect new teachers to be able to integrate technology in the classroom. Not only do they want teachers to use technology, they want the technology to create authentic learning experiences, and want teachers to use social media to connect with both parents and students. According to the article, 72 percent of pre-service teachers fell that they are prepared to effectively use technology in the classroom. The expectation of pre-service teachers to have the skills necessary to incorporate technology is being met because a large percentage of teachers feel they are prepared to use technology.

            My experiences of learning how to use technology does not mirror the information in the article. The article explains that many pre-service teachers are only learning how to use technology to become organized in their education courses. In the education courses I am currently enrolled in, we examine the different ways that technology can be used in the classroom. It is an expectation that the lessons we create are multimodal. Additionally, all students that are education majors at Manhattan College are required to take this course, Teaching with Technology. I think that this requirement is important because not all students had access to different types of technology in their primary and secondary education.

            Chart 1 in the article examines expectations of school principles versus the experiences aspiring teachers have with technology. According to the graph, principals are expecting incoming teachers to have more experience with working with technology than the amount of instruction aspiring teachers are receiving in technology. It is important to recognize that changes must be made in teacher education programs to ensure that aspiring teachers can meet the expectations that principals have.

            Overall, it is vital that technology is used in the classroom. Technology will help motivate students because it is something that they are interested in. Teacher preparation programs need to provide aspiring teachers with the necessary tools and instruction to ensure they will be able to use technology in the classroom in an engaging way.