Implementing the use of technology in the classroom has many benefits . Educational technology prepares our students for the future by improving skills such as collaboration, digital learning, communication, and problem solving. Learning through digital resources is engaging and has the ability to be completely individualized. This is necessary in today's day and age.
With the increased need for our students to be fluent in technology, it would make sense that appropriate funding for technology would increase, also. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many public schools in America. Many classrooms in America still struggle to keep up with the times. How is this possible in the 21st Century? How are digital resources still not evenly distributed to all classrooms? Technological Poverty is the main reason that implementing digital devices such as laptops, tablets, and Smartboards proves to be difficult. Educational technology requires money and is a substantial investment. Not only is purchasing this technology outright expensive, it is also expensive to maintain it.
In recent years, student enrollment is up and school funding is down. When state and local budgets make up the majority of public school funding, students who live in an impoverished area are at an extreme disadvantage. Many students go days or weeks without using a computer. In 2020, there is absolutely no reason why any student should go a single day without technology being integrated into their education.
I encourage everyone to contact their governor and express an interest in more funding for technology in public school systems.
Resources
Contact Your State Governor. (n.d.). Retrieved January 6, 2020, from https://www.usa.gov/state-governor
Mareco, D. (2020, January 28). 5 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/5-benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom
Mareco, D. (2020, January 28). 5 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/5-benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom
The High Cost of Education Budget Cuts. (2018, July 19). Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2018/07/16/the-high-cost-of-education-budget-cuts/
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI was really shocked at your first point with understanding technology being held to a higher standard in today's society than socialization. You are completely correct. While being able to communicate socially is still an important skill set, understand how to use and trouble shoot technology is a crucial skills set for our students to use after in their futures no matter their field. Technology is not limiting to just using documents and spreadsheets. You made a good point that skills involving technology expands to cover collaborative work, communication, and problem solving skills. When I use google applications in my classroom, a lot of time my students are building projects together, without even having to be in the same room. This works for students all across the world too! It is concerning the rate that schools are unable to keep up with growing trends due to technology. By the time all classrooms received SmartBoards, the new skills were focusing on Chromebooks. Due to funding it takes years for schools to fully equipped our classrooms with the most up to date technology. Great Job!
Thank you,
Nicole Santoro
Hi Nicole,
DeleteHow beneficial it must be for your students to be collaborating through Google applications! Did they come to you knowing this skill or did you have to teach them? Our school district has a Google account for each student but very few teachers know how to implement Google classroom. Some students know how to use Google classroom and some don’t. It’s really interesting to see how willing most students who know Google classroom are to show those who don’t how to use it. One thing that I love about Google is that it is completely free! Yes, the technology that you access Google on costs money, but you can use a Chromebook, tablet, or smart phone to use a lot of the applications. Thank you for your response!
-Karen