Integrating
technology in the classroom can be a scary task, considering the fact that school has been done
the same way since the beginning of public school systems. Integrating
technology can be the key to changing your classroom into a more modern and
effective way of learning.
The amount
of schools and individual educators implementing the 21st century
learning initiative has definitely risen in recent years. The high school I
attended, Winterboro High School, focused
on 21st century skills such as collaboration, communication,
technological skills, and critical thinking skills. We learned in a very
hands-on way.
Winterboro
High School has a 1:1 student to computer ratio. In the classroom, we would use
the computers to do our work. Most of our work was done on the computers to
further enhance our technological skills as well as creativity. We used Moodle in every class, and overall I
think Winterboro will always succeed while focusing on the 21st
century skills that are necessary in today’s society.
By
integrating technology into certain classrooms, you can see how the technology
is going to be used.
Take a look at this classroom...
This classroom looks pretty boring. The teacher appears to be lecturing away while writing on a chalkboard. This classroom is lackluster. It is boring and it doesn't seem like a place I would be comfortable learning in.
Now, take a look at this classroom...
Photo Credit - The Daily Home
This classroom is extremely appealing. The students are obviously collaborating and the teacher is instructing in a more comfortable personal level. Each student has a computer, and two students are even using iPads. Some of the students have Macbook computers. This classroom is a 21st century classroom. This classroom is also one of my high school's learning suites. (We call them learning suites at Winterboro High School.) The grey wall will actually open up, so you can have classes that are combined. I was actually a student in this class. It was my junior year and I was in chemistry. The point is, no one wants to be in a musty old school classroom anymore. We want a fresh new look.
Educators
can use many different forms of technology in the classroom including
desktop/laptop computers, iPads/tablets, and many other different forms of
technological hardware to enhance learning. This article,
written by William McCoy of Demand Media, says that technology would be
beneficial in the classroom because there are not only educational games, but
it can promote globalization, research, web seminars, and distance education.
The easiest
way to integrate technology into the classroom is to create more hybrid
classes. This could be the test. Jacksonville State University could fund at
least ten iPads per hybrid class as well as laptop computers. By doing this,
you are not only testing out technology in the classroom but testing to see if
it is an effective way to learn. Students could share the technology, which
will increase collaborative and oral/written communication skills. By
integrating technology, you can know if it will truly work at Jacksonville
State University.
To see a more fun, 21st Century model of the information above, please click here!
