Benefits of Adding Educational Technology in Class?
Thursday January 15, 2009
A recent study from the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance reported on a study it had completed concerning educational technology and its effects on classes and student learning. According to the study, teachers from 132 schools who had previously not been using specific software programs in reading and math were trained and implemented these programs. The result was that there was no appreciable difference in the learning results for students. This is a fascinating result seeing the amounts of educational technology that is bought by school districts around the nation. To me, this just reinforces my belief that good teachers are good teachers with or without additional aids and we can't buy our way to a solution for our educational woes. I wonder the effect if any this report will have on school districts around the nation.
Comments
Yes, a very interesting study. I am currently enrolled in a class and one of the things we touch on is why technology is important to have in the classroom. I do agree with you on the fact that “good teachers are good teachers with or without additional aids” but I also think that some teachers do not have the necessary skills to teach their students the correct way of using technology, and the result will have no outcome on a student’s understanding. In my opinion, technology is very important to have in the classroom because that’s what our world is becoming. In order for them to have skills to carry on in the workforce, they must start at a young age and experiment with the possibilities out there. However, like I previously stated, I think there can be “right” and “wrong” ways to teach technology. Too many teachers become too dependant on it. Instead, teachers should not focus on teaching technology but how they can teach with technology.