Scribd
Upload
100 views5 pages

Using Technology To Enhance Teaching

The document discusses using technology to enhance teaching. It describes how the author teaches in a school that provides laptops for every student to increase access and engagement. The author uses Edmodo for assignments and assessments with immediate feedback. Other technologies used include student multimedia presentations and Socrative for anonymous student questions and competitive games. The author wants to facilitate international video calls between classrooms. Technology allows for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of a diverse student population. It can provide varied materials to support different reading levels and accommodate different paces of learning.

Uploaded by

api-315984511
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
100 views5 pages

Using Technology To Enhance Teaching

The document discusses using technology to enhance teaching. It describes how the author teaches in a school that provides laptops for every student to increase access and engagement. The author uses Edmodo for assignments and assessments with immediate feedback. Other technologies used include student multimedia presentations and Socrative for anonymous student questions and competitive games. The author wants to facilitate international video calls between classrooms. Technology allows for differentiated instruction to meet the needs of a diverse student population. It can provide varied materials to support different reading levels and accommodate different paces of learning.

Uploaded by

api-315984511
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Running Head: USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE TEACHING

Using Technology to Enhance Teaching

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE TEACHING

Using Technology to Enhance Teaching

Technology is all around us. Children today have a vast array of technology
at their fingertips and a wealth of knowledge about how to use it. The challenge
becomes for educators is how can we capitalize on kids love and fascination with
gadgets and technology and use it for the greater good. Ballmer (2001) says so
eloquently, The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers
people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be
productive. It lets people learn things they didnt think they could learn before, and
so in a sense it is all about potential (pg.1). It should be the goal in todays
technological world, to provide an environment in schools that offers this opportunity,
while at the same time relates to curriculum goals in the classroom.
I currently teach in a school system that provides a laptop computer for every
student to have as their own personal learning tool. This has been a valuable
opportunity for students who might not otherwise have the ability to use a computer
at home. One goal of the computers is to increase student achievement and
engagement through the utilization of technology.
One way that I currently encourage the use of computers is by using Edmodo
(Edmodo.com). Assignments can be created on Edmodo, as well as assessments.
These can be uploaded to a group of students, who can then review assignments or
assessments and then respond and upload their answers accordingly. Another
unique component and benefit to the teacher, is it lets you grade the work and

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE TEACHING

submit it right away for the student to get immediate feedback about their grade.
In addition to Edmodo, I try to incorporate, periodically, student generated
multimedia presentations. Students must create their own presentations of the
material recently covered, incorporating a combination of video, sound, graphics,
and images. They are then graded not only on their quality of work, but their
creativity in presenting the material.
A tool I would like to try in the classroom is the Socrative web-based tool
(Socrates.com). I like the idea of students being able to ask questions anonymously
to be able to assess where they are on their learning, then I could have classroom
discussions based on their learning gaps. I also really like the Space Race option.
Students love competitive games that test their knowledge, and it looks like a fun
game to try.
I also would love to Facetime with students from another country to interact
with each other on a project someday. I find it fascinating that we can travel the
world in a matter of seconds and connect with one another.
The community where I teach has undergone incredible economic and ethnic
changes in the last ten to fifteen years. The community and school system has truly
embraced the changes and continues to change as the makeup of students and
newcomers to the community changes. Because of the various backgrounds, this
requires teachers to use differentiated instruction to reach all members of the
classroom. Computers have the capacity to embrace these different backgrounds
and diverse needs by the differentiation of lessons, assignments, etc. For example,

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE LEARNING

students can work individually or in small groups. They can use technology to
practice skills and use them in assessments. Students can keep up on work from
home or other classrooms. Learning at different levels can be accommodated as
well by computers. It provides students with varied reading leveled materials and
strategies for comprehension. For example, books can be read aloud via
headphones for struggling readers, or accelerated readers can read ahead. Also,
Ruedel and Brann (2015) have stated, Technology, incorporated with evidence
based practices, can help with differentiated instruction to make sure students with
disabilities can successfully meet standards, like the common core standards.
(pg.2)
Being able to tap into technological resources and utilize all that it has to offer
is an exciting, yet daunting task. There is so much material out there now. Trying to
find what best works for your classroom is a challenging, but rewarding task. It is
nice to have technology departments and curriculum development teams in schools
to do a lot of the dirty work for you, yet there is still the opportunity to fine tune what
makes your classroom unique. It has been proven that computers can help students
to quickly access in structured ways great amounts of information to aid in
hypothesis development and problem solving, simulate important social issues, and
better organize and synthesize new information (Beal, Bolick, Martorella, 2001,
p.282-283). Hopefully, I will be successful in accomplishing these goals and
effectively using technology to enhance learning.

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE LEARNING

References

Ballmer, S. (2001). Technology quote. Retrieved from http://brainyquote.com.

Beal, C., Bolick, C., Martorella, P., (2009). Teaching Social Studies in Middle and
Secondary Schools. Pearson.

Ruedell, K., Brann, A. (2015). How Can you Use Technology to Differentiate
Instruction to Ensure that Students with Disabilities can Successfully
Meet the Common Core State Standards. Retrieved from

CEMWebinar:UsingTechnologytoDifferentiateInstructionforStruggling
Students.

You might also like