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Technology in the classroom

In the past, the words technology and classroom would never be found in the same sentence. I remember when I was in elementary school, cell phones were just starting to become the "thing". However, they were prohibited from the classroom. So instead of passing notes behind the teacher's back, we would try to stealthily send our friends text messages under our desks. Some of my teachers would actually collect all of our phones as we entered the classroom. Nowadays, technology is found in almost every classroom and schools encourage a "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) environment.

I can see the value in both stances. Back in the day, teachers didn't allow phones in the classroom because they were seen as a distractor and a form of disrespect. But since phones and electronic devices are so prevalent now and most students have them, teachers can use them as a learning tool in the classroom. Since students feel the need to be connected to their phones 24/7 and get separation anxiety if they aren't on their phones, it is a good idea to incorporate their technology into the lesson so that they are using their phones for the task.

I think another reason why teachers shy away from using technology is because they are not confident enough in their technological and troubleshooting skills. Some teachers who did not grow up using technology have a harder time adapting to this fast-growing and constantly evolving industry. And since they aren't comfortable navigating technology and don't know how to fix things when hiccups arise, they just choose not to use it altogether. However, I believe that the mark of a good teacher is one who is constantly willing to learn and adapt to changes.

Some other hesitations that educators may have is that technology isn't always reliable. There are a lot of times where cables aren't working, devices won't turn on, etc. Furthermore, technology can be quite pricey to purchase and even costly to fix, if broken. Lastly, it can be difficult to monitor that students are actually using their technology for school-related tasks and not for personal use.

Although there are disadvantages, here are some benefits of a 21st century classroom with technology:
(Click on the photo to enlarge it)

Personally, I would definitely use technology in my future classroom. There are so many great resources out there and I think that it is an important and effective way to engage the students. Almost every student will have access to some sort of device and they will likely be using it during class time anyway. So why not give them a reason to use it?

I have seen many circumstances where technology has been implemented in the classroom. For example, in class last week, Liisa allowed us to use the newest version of the graphing calculators and motion detectors to try and graph certain functions. Although this doesn't seem like your typical technological device, it made us get up and actually fiddle around with the manipulatives. Needless to say, it was a great activity that got us engaged and moving around.




And no, I didn't forget! Here's this week's math joke:

How does a mathematician plow fields?
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With a pro-tractor.

Hope that lightened up your day,

The Function(al) Teacher


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