Technology Is Here To Stay
During this past year I was able to work at a private school as an educational assistant. From day one something that struck me as odd was the fact that every student had an ipad or a computer. What I quickly learned was that this piece of technology was leant to them by the school and all of their work and date was kept on these devices. These devices remain with the students throughout their educational career. Students use them for everything. Course work was pushed out to students through google classroom. Homework was shared with parents and messages could be written to student parent or teacher. Students take pictures with them and waist time with them. This school even taught classes on technologies giving students a chance to explore exactly what their ipad’s could do. I found these classes particularly interesting as it allowed me to learn exactly what the student was capable of and how the ipad could be used to help in an educational setting.
One of the major benefits I saw from this was the interconnectivity between all the departments at the school. Every teacher had access to the students work allowing them to grade and assess work communally. This was a huge benefit to me as it allowed me to see the students I worked with in other classes. I was able to find areas of strengths for my students and focus on those. Using similar style assignments in order to help students with course work that they may be struggling with. As part of their course requirements students were also asked to share work with their parents. This was a perfect way to keep parents involved with their students learning.
Teaching students to use ipads is essential in todays society. While the last great battle may be technology free zones there is no denying that it is here to stay. It is how we use this technology and develop it that will be crucial in the future. So rather then banning it from our classrooms we should introduce it in this manner. Show students how Ipads and other technology can be used to benefit society and their own learning. Students may find a passion for coding in elementary years and pursue that to make the next big technological breakthrough.
As we have all been talking about in our discussions apps and technology that help to further our education this is the gateway into that learning. While there is no need for it to be apple brand ipads specifically a uniform use of technology across schools can help with connectivity and interconnection between faculty. Having that technology carry with the student as he or she moves up the grades will help reinforce earlier lessons and give students an opportunity to look back on how far they have come.
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