For my assignment I want you to think back to your elementary education experience. Was there much technology use?
Watch the video Discovery Student Movies: Technology in theClassroom. Do these students make a valid point? Do you believe elementary aged students are too young to learn with technology or should students be taught with technology at a young age?
Write two or more paragraphs comparing and contrasting your elementary education experience to the experience that the children in this video are proposing. Then explain your views on whether or not you believe technology is important for elementary grades.
When I was in elementary school and even in middle and high school, we really did not do much with technology at all. Besides learning how to type, I never learned anything else about technology in school. I think that the kids in this video make a valid point and technology should be incorporated into younger grades. The younger, the better!
When I got to college, a lot was done online. We had to keep up with our own emails. Also, important class information was posted online. Not to mention, there are plenty of online classes along with work that is to be done online. Luckily, I had grown up around technology because my dad is a software engineer and thought it was very important for me to have a computer. If I hadn’t been surrounded by technology in my home life when I was younger, which some kids aren’t, then college and the real world would have been much more difficult.
I know today is much different for kids than when I was growing up. Today, it is more common than not to be surrounded by technology. I feel that it is the teacher’s job to educate their students on how to use certain types of technologies and how to use them properly. If technology is incorporated into the classroom at a young age, students will always be up to date on the latest technology and using it will become second nature. This will make for easier transitions in the future. For those students who already have technology as their second nature, incorporating it into the classroom will make class more relatable to them and they will learn and understand why it is important to use technology properly and in a positive way.
Our society, today, is so reliant on technology and different devices. I feel that our students should be prepared to enter into this society. It doesn’t make sense to keep students away from technology when they are going to be expected to know how to use it and know how to use it properly in the future.
Emily Printz,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your video. The student actresses and actors in the movie really were great and used excellent enthusiasm. You have a well thought out idea for an assignment here, so I definitely wanted to give it a shot.
Growing up in my elementary classroom I only had one class that used technology, which was computer class. However, even in there we never used any type of internet browser let alone a program like Imovie. I attended Covenant Christian school from the grades of fourth to eighth. Covenant is a small private school that did not have the money to purchase Ipads or any kind of technology on that level. As a result of this, we stuck to pencils and paper every day at school. Now I can not say that I was miserable throughout school without the fun use of technology because I loved being there. I can argue that if the school did have these resources the students would be much better prepared for the upcoming years of high school and college. Even when I went through high school I was still not properly introduced to any kind of network like blog or twitter. In the classroom there was no internet usage in any of the four years I attended school. Sure, when I had a report to write I would get on Google and search a couple links and I had heard of blogs before but never used one. I had now been in school for over twelve years and not once had I used the internet as a tool for sharing my thoughts, making connections, or any other technique we see in this video you have posted. I am now a senior in college and am learning things that this group of girls are illustrating in early elementary grades.
These students are getting ahead of the game by learning all of these techniques so early on. Along with the learning they are having a great time. This is easily seen in the video by the girls making a robot. I actually have a split mindset when it comes to the idea of giving students computers at early ages. One side of my argument deals with the thought that students at the third grade level and lower should not touch a computer. They need to be outside, growing and playing with friends. I would argue if teachers start sticking kids on computers that early they will become nerds that never leave their laptop. The other side of my argument supports the use of technology in the classroom. With the use of podcasts, blogs, twitter, and imovie, kids can advance their technology skills and really have a brighter future.
My conclusion would be to use technology in careful moderation. Teach the students the skills they need for a "computer filled" world, but do not let them dwell on those skills all the time. Kids need to be social and explore when they are young, they do not need to be in front of a screen all day.
Great Post Emily Printz
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI love seeing student made videos. They really get into it!
Hi Emily, when I think back to my elementary education we didn't really have widespread use of technology; but then again computers were fairly new and expensive then. I do remember having computer labs with math and word games on them. I think the impact these simple games had on me as a student speaks for itself simply by the fact that I still remember them 15 years later. I can only imagine what elementary students these days will remember when they are older!
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