Presentation Technology
Integrating
Instructional Technology
As the world of technology continues to evolve and
human beings continue to adapt to its increased prevalence, integrating
technology into the basic education of our children becomes imperative. Not
only does integrating technology accommodate some of the new information that
come with having a technologically dependent society but it also can deepen and
improve upon the way that student traditionally absorb information.
Incorporating technology into lesson plans can allow students the opportunity
to self-moderate their learning and "the opportunity to learn by trial and
error, which allows them to see how things work rather than forcing them to
trust what the teacher says". (How to Use Technology to Enhance a Lesson,
2011). Integrating technology into classroom instruction is important because
it gives students a new way to learn classic material, it helps keep students
engaged in the lesson, and it provides students with the experience they will
need to work with technology as working adults.
Online Videos
Educational videos are used in the classroom to
supplement what students are already learning and to provide a visual aid to
help students better understand the information being presented.
In my own classroom, I can use these videos to
enhance the learning of certain plays. Shakespeare was meant to be observed
while being acted and was not written to serve as leisurely reading material.
Poetry can also be enhanced through videos of dramatic reading - this can make
it easier to understand the way in which the poet wanted the words to be
interpreted.
Multi-media Presentations
Multi-media presentations can be used
to strengthen lectures by providing the same information in a visual, and
possibly auditory, way. In my classroom, I will use multi-media presentations to
complement in-class lectures and discussions and the students will later be
able to access the information through the classroom website whenever they need
to.
The curriculum I will enhance through
multi-media presentations include sentence structure, literary tools, the fine
points of grammar and writing. This format of presenting information would also
be an excellent way of introducing the terminology that come with higher level
English courses.
‘Response Clickers’
'Response clickers', or interactive student remote
response systems, could be used in the class room to enhance the class-led
discussion process and to help students review for tests. In my own classroom,
I will use response clickers to take polls on student opinion during
class-discussion and to encourage student participation with ask-and-answer
portions of lectures.
This system could also be utilized as a testing
format if the system allowed for the cataloguing of individual student
responses and stored the information. I will also use this system as a form of
review before tests - vocabulary tests would be easy to give in multiple-choice
form with response clickers.
Pros and Cons of using
Technology to Facilitate Learning (200-300 words)
Some of the benefits of integrating technology into
classroom instruction is that devices with internet access serve as easy
research tools in the classroom and allow students to access the information
used in class at any time outside of the classroom. They can also provide
experience with the technology that many students will see as working adults
and these devices "can hold hundreds of textbooks on one device, plus
homework, quizzes, and other files" (Jordan, 2012) and are easy to
transport because of their size.
Downfalls and drawbacks include the initial cost of
purchasing the necessary technology as well as purchasing programs to ensure
the safety of the products, and the staff with the knowledge to maintain the
devices because they can "crash, freeze, or get hacked." (Jordan,
2012.) Some teachers will also require extra training to efficiently utilize
the technology. Beyond this, internet access increases the chances that students
will be distracted by the copious amount of things on the internet and
increases the likelihood that students will be tempted to cheat.
Technology allows the average classroom to go beyond
the traditional textbook and paper. In an English classroom, technology, specifically
access to the internet, can allow students to see how people around the world
use English to communicate with each other on social media and can see how that
differs from the way that communication is had in person or in professional
settings. They can also expand their own reading and writing horizons through
sites that allow for massive peer-review forums and discussions.
Wired and Wireless Classrooms (100-200 words)
Wired classrooms
are brick and mortar classrooms that may have several internet access points
(typically desktop computers) that access the internet through Ethernet cables.
The computers are heavy, difficult to relocate and, because there are so few,
imply that students must access only a few at a time individually or in groups
with one student using the computer. The upsides of this format of classroom
are that, because there are fewer computers, there are fewer internet-based
distractions and students are forced to communicate and cooperate in real-time,
face-to-face.
Wireless
classrooms, on the other hand "are mobile classroom environments consisting
of laptop computers" (Griffioen, Seales, & Lumpp, Jr., 1998) and, in
more modern times, can also include smart phones and tablets. Benefits of this
type of classroom include that because the class is focused primarily on the
internet and its contents, students are able to access information relevant and
hold class at any location with a Wi-Fi signal. However, with more computers
and more students accessing the internet, it becomes harder for teachers to
monitor the work that students are actually accomplishing.
Classrooms with
fewer access points require more lecture time on the part of the teacher
because there are fewer ways to gain information and could also mean the
hauling of heavy texts for students. Wireless classrooms lead to more
student-led study time with teacher guidance and students learning the ability
to independently research and can help to evolve time management skills.
Conclusion
As
a high school English teacher, I can utilize technology and the ability to
access the internet by finding relevant material that helps to expand upon what
my students are learning in class. With the internet’s help, Shakespeare
transforms from a seemingly garbled mess of old-English sentence structure to a
dramatic experience reenacted by the Hollywood faces that students recognize
and admire. The same literature and writing that their parents once read and
studied suddenly become easier to research, easier to connect with and easier
to transport between home and school with the added benefit of being able to
access the information virtually anywhere. Today’s students are skilled
multitaskers and are expecting technology to be used in every aspect of their
lives, it is a teacher’s job to find a way to do that and to hone and sharpen a
student’s technological skills by incorporating technology into the classroom.
References:
Griffioen, J., Seales, W. B., &
Lumpp Jr., J. E. (1998). Teaching in realtime wireless classrooms. Department
of Computer Science and Department of Electrical Engineering. University of
Kentucky. Para. 2. Retrieved from: http://www.dcs.uky.edu/~wc/publication/1296/1296.html
How to Use Technology to Enhance a Lesson. (2011). Concordia Online
Education, Educational Technology. Para 7. Retrieved from: http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/tech-ed/how-to-use-technology-to-enhance-a-lesson/
Jordan, G. (2012). The downside of a high-tech classroom. State Impact.
Para. 12&13. Retrieved from: http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/11/20/the-downside-of-a-high-tech-classroom/
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