Comments on: IT’s Elementary! Integrating technology in the Primary Grades http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/01/24/its-elementary-integrating-technology-in-the-primary-grades/ The Magic of Learning Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:20:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sarah http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/01/24/its-elementary-integrating-technology-in-the-primary-grades/comment-page-1/#comment-28174 Sarah Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:51:22 +0000 http://www.langwitches.org/blog/2008/01/24/its-elementary-integrating-technology-in-the-primary-grades/#comment-28174 I agree with your viewpoint on several fronts. I think it is imperative that teachers implement technology into their classrooms for many reasons. The biggest reason is that technology continues to increase opportunities and expand rapidly. If we do not help our students gain exposure to these technological developments, they will have a difficult time catching up in the future when they need to use technology in their daily lives. Another reason to use technology is because students, even at the Kindergarten level, can use technology and love to use it. My students use laptops to work on various sites, such as author's pages or educational programs. We also use discovery education and brainpop jr. to show great educational videos to the students. I have a SMARTBOard and the students love to interact with it in lessons we do. It is a great way to make that home school connection so parents can stay involved in what is happening in their child's education. I think it is true that many teachers are intimidated by technology, especially if they were not taught how to use it (college, professional development). It is hard to use something that you do not feel comfortable with yourself when trying to teach it to others. I agree that having a technology resource available is very important. Technology is great but it is not always reliable and if you do not know how to fix a problem when it occurs, it makes you less willing to use it again. I believe another reason teachers do not use technology is because there is a shortage of money in education and many schools lack the resources needed to effectively integrate technology. One other reason teachers probably do not use technology as much as they might like is the lack of time and professional development available to find out what resources are out there and how to use them. I agree with your viewpoint on several fronts. I think it is imperative that teachers implement technology into their classrooms for many reasons. The biggest reason is that technology continues to increase opportunities and expand rapidly. If we do not help our students gain exposure to these technological developments, they will have a difficult time catching up in the future when they need to use technology in their daily lives. Another reason to use technology is because students, even at the Kindergarten level, can use technology and love to use it. My students use laptops to work on various sites, such as author’s pages or educational programs. We also use discovery education and brainpop jr. to show great educational videos to the students. I have a SMARTBOard and the students love to interact with it in lessons we do. It is a great way to make that home school connection so parents can stay involved in what is happening in their child’s education.

I think it is true that many teachers are intimidated by technology, especially if they were not taught how to use it (college, professional development). It is hard to use something that you do not feel comfortable with yourself when trying to teach it to others. I agree that having a technology resource available is very important. Technology is great but it is not always reliable and if you do not know how to fix a problem when it occurs, it makes you less willing to use it again. I believe another reason teachers do not use technology is because there is a shortage of money in education and many schools lack the resources needed to effectively integrate technology. One other reason teachers probably do not use technology as much as they might like is the lack of time and professional development available to find out what resources are out there and how to use them.

]]> By: courtney http://langwitches.org/blog/2008/01/24/its-elementary-integrating-technology-in-the-primary-grades/comment-page-1/#comment-13531 courtney Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:02:38 +0000 http://www.langwitches.org/blog/2008/01/24/its-elementary-integrating-technology-in-the-primary-grades/#comment-13531 I strongly agree with your point of using technology in every classroom. All students learn differently, and by having various ways of teaching the same subject one is able to reach every child. Computers in the classroom are beneficial to students because: *It is a great way to bring teachers together and to discuss lesson plans as a group. *Students have fun with hands-on work. Studies have shown that test scores are increased when a child works with technology in the classroom. (http://caret.iste.org) *It gives children a chance to show their creativity. Each child will have their own way of portraying the information. *Students will be proud to show their parents and grandparents their work. Some parents will not know how to use the programs that their children are using at such a young age. Other students will learn what a difference the details make too and it may inspire them. * The use of technology is necessary for their future. Think about where a child would be if he/she had never used a computer before! Starting children at an elementary school age prepares them for the future. Why begin teaching a student to use a computer in middle or high school? There is no age barrier with a computer. Pre-school aged children can play with MS Paint, pretend to write letters in Word, or play games with Dora the Explorer at Nickjr.com. Teachers shy away from technology in the classroom, I believe, for two reasons. One is because they don't feel comfortable with it themselves. Two is because they don't know if it will always work. Having a tech-aid on-hand will relieve teachers' stress if their plan doesn't work. But, as some teachers are, students are not afraid of computers. They can grab the mouse and start learning. You can tell someone how to do something as much as you want, but it's not until the experience comes that you learn something. I strongly agree with your point of using technology in every classroom. All students learn differently, and by having various ways of teaching the same subject one is able to reach every child.
Computers in the classroom are beneficial to students because:
*It is a great way to bring teachers together and to discuss lesson plans as a group.
*Students have fun with hands-on work. Studies have shown that test scores are increased when a child works with technology in the classroom. (http://caret.iste.org)
*It gives children a chance to show their creativity. Each child will have their own way of portraying the information.
*Students will be proud to show their parents and grandparents their work. Some parents will not know how to use the programs that their children are using at such a young age. Other students will learn what a difference the details make too and it may inspire them.
* The use of technology is necessary for their future. Think about where a child would be if he/she had never used a computer before!
Starting children at an elementary school age prepares them for the future. Why begin teaching a student to use a computer in middle or high school? There is no age barrier with a computer. Pre-school aged children can play with MS Paint, pretend to write letters in Word, or play games with Dora the Explorer at Nickjr.com. Teachers shy away from technology in the classroom, I believe, for two reasons. One is because they don’t feel comfortable with it themselves. Two is because they don’t know if it will always work. Having a tech-aid on-hand will relieve teachers’ stress if their plan doesn’t work. But, as some teachers are, students are not afraid of computers. They can grab the mouse and start learning. You can tell someone how to do something as much as you want, but it’s not until the experience comes that you learn something.

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