Computers in the Classroom
- By Trudy Kerman
The wave of the future
According to a recent study regular use of computers has an effect on student performance on standardized tests. Based on 986 fourth grade students from 55 classrooms in nine school districts, the study found that students using technology regularly to write papers for school performed better on assessment tests. This result occurred despite the fact that students were not allowed to use computers for the test.
So what's the deal with computers in the classroom and how can teachers integrate them to enhance learning, keep the kids engaged and prepare them for the world outside?
The way our children learn in the classroom is quickly changing as laptops begin to play a leading role in the rounding out of education. Many public schools are finding creative ways to keep up with private schools that have been introducing computers into the classroom at a more aggressive pace. By bringing immediate access to information, computers help ignite inspiration and move student motivation levels up.
Thomas Rhymes, Riverdale High School Principal for the past 3 years foresees some kind of electronic device per student is in the future saying that "technology is bigger than all of us and I do see the integration of technology in regular classroom learning situations."
Learning opportunities far outweigh their risks. Rhymes says "this wave of technology in our kids' classrooms is not a bad thing; we just need to change our thinking about how we control their use." Schools have already learned how to exploit computers as a learning tool. They block inappropriate sites allowing student access to kid-friendly research sites, including search engines for magazine articles and so much more.
Whether it’s a laptop program or computers carted into classrooms the use of this type of technology supports four fundamental characteristics of learning; active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback and connections to real-world contexts. What makes this exciting is that students are more fully engaged in the learning process and the interactivity keeps them interested. It has even been said that the introduction of computers in the classroom has a positive effect on the high school dropout rate.
With proper training and technical support for the teachers on how to use the laptops as tools and not distractions the floodgates open to an abundance of learning opportunities. Springdale elementary school teacher Ginette Gingras foresees the-one-laptop-per-desktop classroom coming very soon. "Absolutely, there will be laptops on every desktop, in my estimate, within the next five years," said Gringras, an educator for 31 years.
Gringras said that in her classroom she uses her laptop connected to a smart board as an interactive teaching tool where she can cut and paste images and information from the internet and have it appear, enlarged on the smart board. A student can then touch the screen and that image, a picture of British Columbia, for example, will zoom into a picture of the rain forest. A social science teacher, Gringras is creating a Jeopardy style game for the kids to learn geography, memorizing provinces, their capitals and many facts, all to be played as a game. It is a much different way to learn from schooldays past when facts were memorized and regurgitated on exam day.
Yup. The good old days of Bristol board presentations and Paper Mache school projects are quickly becoming relics of the past as today's students prefer to use multi media tools and produce PowerPoint presentations to complete their assignments. Kids want to interact and be engaged so working together on computer assignments helps them socialize around a common goal.
A broad education reform movement absolutely includes the addition of computer-based technologies to the classroom in tandem with improvements in teacher training, curriculum, student assessment, and a school's capacity for change.
Your public school, library, or not-for-profit organization may be eligible to receive computer equipment.
For information: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cfs-ope.nsf/eng/00001.html
