Modern Technology In the Classroom

Although the idea of technology and the Internet are recently new to the world, they have been drastically changing the past few years. These rapid and continuous changes have impacted not only the modern-day workforce but are now starting to effect education. Many people worry that we will not be able to keep up with the current pace of change and therefor not benefit from the ever-evolving technology.

Personally, I can relate to this specifically because I work with young children. I had the privilege of growing up with technology and learning how it works at a very young age. Of course that is to say that the technology I learned when I was a child is very different than the technology I see children learning today. Although technology is constantly evolving, I would bet that certain types progress more than others. The reason I say this is because of the things I have noticed not only in my technology class but also in my first grade classroom. I would completely agree in the statement that advanced technology is constantly evolving. How often do you see Google come out with a new application beside the search engine? I would also go as far to say that basic technology or beginner’s technology is stagnant. Recently, I have had the opportunity to learn about many different online and technological resources that would be helpful in education. Contrarily, all of them seem like they would fit nicely into an older-aged classroom, with kids who already have experience with technology. Why haven’t the tools around learning and using basic technology developed? If anything, we need more efficient and effective ways to teach how to use technology, and what to use it for. In an article titled, Battle of the Classrooms: Apple, Google, Microsoft Vie for K-12 Market, Sydney Johnson explains the different ways large technology companies are infiltrating education. She explains how Apple, Google, and Microsoft each boast a “Classroom” tool aimed at K-12 educators and students (Johnson, S. 2017). Although upon further reading and examination of these “tools,” it seems obvious that they would only work or have be the most useful in older grades and classrooms. It seems almost ridiculous to imagine kindergarteners or first graders on Google classroom collaborating online, streamlining feedback and sharing assignments.

However, this is not to say there isn’t technology made for younger kids out there, it’s just harder to find and more outdated. I believe that if technology was more focused on creating innovate ways for children to learn how to use it, education would benefit much more from it. Besides, what’s the point of new technology for older children if they don’t even know how to use it?

References

Johnson, S. (2017, May 31). Battle of the Classrooms: Apple, Google, Microsoft Vie for K-12 Market - EdSurge News. Retrieved September 21, 2017, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-02-22-battle-of-the-classrooms- apple-google-microsoft-vie-for-k-12-market

Catapano, J. (n.d.). What is a PLN? Why Do I Need One? Retrieved September 21, 2017, from http://www.teachhub.com/what-pln-why-do-i-need-one