Technology as an Accelerator to Learning

The education profession is changing very rapidly. The infusion of technology and 21^st century skills is altering the way we look at teaching and learning. It has not only altered my teaching style, but has become the backbone in which all of my classes are conducted. This change is not something that has happened overnight. It took time to develop my understanding of the purpose of technology within the classroom.  I had to understand what it meant to use technology and how the students would interact and learn with that technology. A few years ago, during a professional development, the idea of using technology was put into perspective for me. A fellow colleague, who happens to be a technology guru, was talking about incorporating more than just PowerPoint into the classroom. During the professional development, the overall session focused on how technology does not replace teaching, but that technology should be used as an accelerator to learning. That session really put the whole idea of teaching with technology into focus for me, thus altering the way I think about technology and learning.  In all of my lessons I know that technology does not replace good teaching; it moves it forward by connecting students to information. When you ask a student to look something up, they don’t go to the library or use (dare I say it) the card catalogue. They Google it! Technology and information are literally at their fingertips, and it is my role as the teacher to help students use and access that information to accelerate their learning. As I continue to explore the idea of using technology as an accelerator to learning, I will blog about my experiences and usefulness in the classroom.

Making a Case for Technology in the Classroom

Technology is an integral part of society. And so, it has become part of the educational process. The U.S. Department of Education makes the case for the use of technology in teaching and learning. One of the issues surrounding technology in the classroom is ways in which to fully integrate technology into instruction instead of it serving as its own distinct subject in schools. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the use of technologies “can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or program delivery; and better utilizing teacher time”.  Several examples are provided on the agency’s site.

http://www.ed.gov/oii-news/use-technology-teaching-and-learning

Limitations

One of the limitations in action research is its external validity and the results being used in settings outside of the classroom where the original study was performed. What can we do to change this?

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