Technology affects every aspect of our lives. From romance to business, it has shown its presence everywhere. But technology has had a huge impact on education that cannot be denied, and has done nothing but improve the quality and quantity of education.
Today, schools are being pressured more and more to improve the technology they use and teach in the classrooms. Parents are placing this pressure on schools so that their students have the skills needed to compete in the real world job market. Students are placing pressure on the schools to improve technology by having more knowledge of
current technology than the school’s staff. Teachers in turn are placing emphasis on the schools to improve technology they want to increase efficiency of information sharing, grading, and communication in the classroom. Businesses place an emphasis on technology in schools so that the schools adequately prepare their future employees, the students. The government is also placing pressure on schools to improve technology in the classrooms so that Americans can compete, along with helping prepare successful employees to help improve the economy in the future. These pressures are welcomed however, as schools are eager to improve their current use of technology in the classroom.
But why are schools so eager to improve their use technology? And why is there so much importance placed on educating today's students with modern technology? The answer is simple: because technology has such a positive impact on education, and in so
many ways.
In regards to Language Arts education, the prominence of word processors has helped to ease the work of editing and rewriting. Built in spelling and grammar checkers have made writing papers also much easier, allowing students to check their grammar and spelling with the click of a button and on their own. This frees up time for teachers to
address more serious issues in the classroom and allows students more time to work on their project, instead of having to spend large quantities of time going over their project with the teacher. Also, programs such as PowerPoint and other graphic arts programs allow students to illustrate their literary works and by creating them on the computer, it makes it
much simpler for the students to publish their own work on the internet. When it comes to learning how to improve reading skills, many programs exist, one of the better being Reader Rabbit, which uses games to disguise drill-and-practice routines to help students improve reading ability. All of these are examples of how technology has positively affected Language Arts education.
Science education has also been affected however. Computer programs like BioPac, used here on LSSU’s campus, help collect data and analyze it. Experiments that normally would not have been able to be accomplished or ones that would have required great lengths of time can now easily be completed in a matter of minutes. Also, internet resources can help provide ideas for experiments, with instructions on how to complete them often, and also will provide forums for students to exchange and discuss results with each other. In response to students feelings of uneasiness about dissecting real animals andinhumane treatment of test subjects, programs and web sites such as www.froguts.com now offer students another option. In response to traditional dissections, students can perform a virtual frog dissection. This web site also offers short quizzes to test the knowledge the students have gained. And after all the experiments are done, spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel offers students the chance to analyze and graph data on the computer. All of these improvements in technology have also improved the quality of today’sstudents education.
Advancements in technology have also had a positive impact on math education. Computer aided software for graphing calculators and math tutorials and math based games, such as Math Blaster, are helping students improve their math skills in every area. Another example is The Geometer’s Sketchpad which lets students draw different geometric shapes and explore the correlation's of angle and lines and othergeometric
concepts using the figures they have drawn. All of the tools are available out there to do math calculations and to assist students in their education.
Besides being able to help improve education in specific areas of studies, technology is also helping students with disabilities to learn. These tools of technology, known as assistive technology, provide many tools that help students with special needs participate in normal classroom activities. Keyboard enhancements help simplify typing and
programs like ERICA (Eyegaze Response Interface Computer Aid System) which recognize and track movements of the eyes and dilation of the pupil’s to control a mouse on a screen make using computers much easier. Character recognition software can also be used to help simplify reading and voice recognition software can help students who have the
ability to speak but not type. Assistive technology is actually considered to be so important in the education of students with special needs that it is incorporated into the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees special needs students their rights to an education.
Technology has had a great impact on students of today. It does not only affect students however, and teachers are feeling the changes. Technology has impacted how teachers give instruction and what they teach. Now, instead of teaching all students at once, students are learning at their own pace and teachers have become facilitators, not strictly providing the information, but helping the students to find the information on their own. Technology has also provided professional resources for teachers. Voicemail, e- mail, and the internet have provided new ways for teachers to communicate and share ideas of what does and doesn’t work within classrooms. It also allows teachers to findresources for information or to provide the information to the students over the internet, so that students may access classroom notes, their grades, or anything else imaginable over the internet at any time. This has all changed the way teachers perform their job.
Several examples of the changes in technology and how it affects education can be seen here on Lake Superior State University’s campus. Technology has become so important to teachers that a basic computer class, Introduction to Microcomputer Applications, has become a requirement for entrance to the teaching program here on campus. Also, many professor’s have systems which allow you to check your grade or to post messages about classes on a public forum. A fine example of this is Professor Terwilliger’s web site. The newest addition to technology on LSSU’s campus isthe use of WebCT. This web site allows professors to create a source for the course syllabus, lecture notes and course calendar’s to be posted, along with public forums and public chat rooms. WebCT keeps track of what students are enrolled in what courses and when the student logs in, it brings up the information available for that student’s courses, along with notes if anything has been updated since the student’s last visit. All of this is available forLSSU students at their web page. These are examples of how exactly technology has affected education at Lake Superior State University.
Technology has had a huge impact on education. It continues to shape the way we learn and what we learn today and in the future. As technology advances, so does the quality of education and that is nothing but good news for the students of today and of the future.