The Use of Technology in Elementary Classrooms

The Use of Technology in Elementary Classrooms

For how much access there is to technology in the majority of elementary schools and classrooms today, it does not seem as if technology is being integrated into them nearly as much as it could be.  I believe the main reason for this is because many teachers have not received appropriate training on the technology their school has available so they do not feel comfortable integrating it into their lessons.  Arends and Kilcher (2010) discuss the importance of using computers (or laptops) during instruction.  The internet is a tool that any elementary student can be taught to utilize for educational purposes to some degree.  While some schools may have one computer lab that all classes must share, many classrooms have their own sets of laptops with internet available for student use.  Students can use the internet to find information on a topic they were just introduced to or to conduct further research on projects they have been working on for a while.  I have seen the internet used as an educational tool frequently in secondary classrooms, but not so much in elementary classrooms.

            Barone and Wright (2008) discuss how they integrate digital and media literacies into a fourth-grade classroom in Fernley, NV.  They exposed students to new literacies with innovative text formats via the internet, had students further research topics on the internet, critically evaluate the internet sources, and communicate using word processing programs, e-mail, and chats.  They stress that there key elements a school must consider before deciding to use such a technology-based literacy program.  These elements include having the necessary technology available for use, enough time for teachers and students to learn to use the technology, and a technology support team.

            Although we have not had the students use the internet in my host teachers’ third grade classroom, we have had them use other forms of technology.  The laptops that are available to our classroom have a software program called Kidspiration installed on them.  So far we have had the students use the base-10 math program on Kidspiration to help them practice their place-value skills.  The students have used the AlphaSmarts a couple of times already for the publishing step of their writing pieces.  We also use the ELMO and the flat screen TV in our classroom on a daily basis to present information to and model lessons for the students. 

Pitler et al. (2007) discuss how the Kidspiration software can be an effective learning tool for many reasons.  One of these reasons is the idea mapping/brainstorming tool it has that we used in our first Technology class.  Students can use this idea mapping tool to organize their ideas during the first part of the writing process.  It allows them to not only see their own ideas written down but they can also move them around on the screen and link them to other ideas.  I know not a lot of schools in Juneau have purchased this program but almost, if not all, schools have at least limited access to other word processing programs that would allow their students to do similar tasks.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to using technology in the classroom, we just need to educate more teachers about what is already available to them so they can put it to use!

References

Arends, R., & Kilcher, A. (2010). Teaching for student learning: Becoming an accomplished             teacher. New York: Routledge.

Barone, D.& Wright, T.E. (2008). Literacy Instruction With Digital and Media Technologies.  The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 292–302.

Pitler, H., Hubbel, E.R., Kuhn, M. & Malenoski, K.  (2007). Using Technology With Classroom                Instruction That Works.  Denver: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning.