Use of Technology

After speaking with students in the classroom about their use and knowledge of technology I was very impressed with the amount of kids that have access to technology. Many of my students have a cell phone and a computer with Internet access at home. I took a poll from one class and 98% had a cell phone and 90% had a computer with Internet access. Those that had a computer but did not have Internet access said they still play some sort of computer game though.

Many students also had some sort of gaming system. Whether it be an oldie but a goodie, Nintendo, they had a Wii, an X-box, Playstation or Nintedo DS. When I asked them about how often they used their technology for school purposes several said only when they had to do a research project. For example, they discuss how they had an animal project in Language Arts class where they had to learn about the habitat and life of an animal through research and then write a paper about it. Many said they had time at school to work on this so using the Internet at home was not necessary.I find it so hard to believe that so many young kids have so much access to technology.

A student in my class has their very own Ipad. It is such an expensive piece of equipment I cannot help but wonder why a parent would feel the need to buy something of that nature for an 11 year old! I remember when I had my first cell phone when I was 17 years old. Students at 17 years old now have had a cell phone since they were 6 and have had every gaming system created in the past 10 years!I think that students need to start realizing the importance of technology as well as see how lucky they are to have constant access to that. They need to appreciate that they can get on the Internet at almost any time and make a phone call to anyone they want, whenever they want for the most part.

Technology is constantly changing and having an impact on how we teach. Giving students research projects where they get to use technology will only help them in the long run. Learning to surf the web and find websites that are authentic and real is so important for them to learn. They need to see that it is not just for fun and social networking all the time! Regardless of what you teach, finding ways to incorporate the Internet and/or other technology will help students grow to realize that being able to have this kind of access is a privilege!


http://katiegrote.podbean.com/