I would agree that the use of
technology definitely makes a difference in students’ learning. In today's
generation, technology is definitely at the forefront of children's lives and
entertainment. For this reason, incorporating learning materials into these
digital mediums can prove to be useful and engaging since they are already such
a large part of their lives. First, technology allows students to learn by doing rather than trying to absorb lines of
information from a textbook. By interacting with technology, they have a chance
to learn by trial and error, which allows them to see how things work. The
teacher's role becomes more of the facilitator asking individual students about
their choices and engaging them in deeper conversation on the subject. Another
reason that technology makes a difference in students learning is that it
offers opportunities like never before. Building background knowledge that
“sticks”, which we know, is one of the strongest indicators of how well students will learn
new information and be able to transfer and apply it into other areas. So imagine a virtual field trip to explore the pyramids in Egypt when
sixth graders are studying about Ancient Egypt; or visiting a country or state
they are studying. Now the explanation and images are not limited to
descriptions of things or a few pictures about the subject, it is experiencing
it by using technology.
We need to
provide our students with activities that are innovative and challenging as
well as purposeful if we want them to be engaged in learning, no technology for the sake of
“using”’ technology in the classroom. We have to be very critical and
evaluative in using technology that is aligned to the instructional
outcomes. Teachers can create learning activities with technology that
enable students to learn independently, to be creative, and to think critically
about issues relevant to their own lives and their own learning.
