Integrating Technology Into the Classroom

Technology has already become a necessary part of education system. Technology is changing every day, perhaps more than most of us realize. We are preparing today’s students for jobs that don’t yet exist. Not utilizing technology in the classroom would leave our nation’s students far behind the rest of the world. Technology opens doors for teachers that they never had before. The teachers who integrate technology today are not only helping their students learn in different ways through technology, they are also utilizing the information that is easily accessible at their finger tips. Teachers can get ideas from other teachers for their lesson plans online. They can create visual aids to help their students understand the subject they are learning. The list goes on and on. Teachers can take in to consideration Bloom’s taxonomy to create their lesson plans through technology. Bloom’s taxonomy can be used to help get students to think critically, because students today have to learn how to think on their feet. Bloom’s taxonomy is based on six main objectives: basic knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Technology should help students gain greater global perspectives, and connect with the world around them. Teachers should not replace core material with technology, but they should integrate various types of technology to help their students learn.
Technology can be a practical way for students and teachers to learn together. Students can work together to come up with different ways to use technology within their classroom. Every student has a different learning style. A student might be a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic learner, and most of us are a combination of the two. Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences opens the door even more to the process of how we learn. Teachers have to take in the thought processes of every student. Students can participate in hands on activities one the computer, or they can work collaboratively on a power point project. Students can create graphics and storylines on the computer. Students have the ability to play academic games online. Technology is another option for students to generate their own creative ideas. Technology can help students who struggle with communication, through communication devices. Technology allows students and teachers opportunities they never had before.