Technology in the classroom.

In my opinion, I feel that the use of technology in the classroom has both its limitations and benefits. However, having said that, it seems the most logical step forward in society as technology is constantly advancing and improving our lives. New discoveries are made every day with the aim of improving and developing society as a whole, education included. This means that technology is there to enable children and teachers alike to enhance and engage with learning.

I believe that one of the most important reasons for the use of technology in the classroom is that the most recent generations of children have grown up surrounded by technology and have the need for different skills than we have today. This is highly vital, as these skills will affect children’s future. For example, in this day and age most jobs involve work with some kind of technology (usually a computer), imagine if a child didn’t have a clue how to type or wasn’t taught how to use the internet at school. This means that without the use of technology in the classroom children will miss out on significant skills they need to develop into fully functioning adults. In addition to this, technology in the classroom allows children to engage fully with their learning as it can enhance and develop lessons on the most boring topics, such as teaching countries in Geography, where children can access different interactive games/resources that is more useful and memorable than looking through an atlas.

Yet, there are definitely limitations to technology in the classroom. I am sure that we have all been in the situation where the interactive whiteboard has decided not to work and that we are then wishing for good old fashioned whiteboard and pen. This could therefore then be seen as wasting valuable lesson time or producing a lesson that is not quite up to the standard we want it to be. Therefore, we have learnt from our knowledge of the not always reliable technology, to always have a back-up plan. It could be argued that teaching is constantly being refined and driven by technology instead of what is the best learning and education for the children. Similarly, there is the issue of children eventually not being able to write because there is a greater focus on typing (unlikely at the moment but could maybe happen in the future!) and the idea that spelling doesn't matter because we have spell check.

I think that technology is an important part of classroom practice now and is crucial for the younger generation. However, there definitely should be a balance in the classroom. This module will challenge me in more ways than one, probably when challenging other people’s views and ideas as well as thinking more deeply about my own.