When thinking about the relative advantage of using technology in a language arts classroom I found many examples. I'm going to focus on three specific advantages of technology use for my own classroom.
Level of Engagement
One of the greatest advantages technology affords is that instructors can give students a level of autonomy in the classroom. Instead of standing in front of the students and becoming a talking head, educators can use technology to interact with their students. The idea of releasing responsibility to students (Zoch et al, 2016) is something that instructors need to be comfortable with. By giving away control through the use of technology, instructors can boost the level of engagement they see with the students. By shifting the role of students and teachers and giving purpose to the learning in the classroom student engagement can increase engagement and deepen student learning. (McKnight et al, 2016) When students are engaged in a classroom, the bell that ends class is looked on as a disappointment - technology makes them enjoy being in the classroom.
Real World Learning
Technology gives an opportunity for students to build skills they can use on assignments and once they start to engage with the real world. The use of technology in the classroom increases access to resources and enhances both communication and feedback. (McKnight et al, 2016). Being able to communicate effectively, give feedback, and locate resources are all skills that employers value in their employees. In my classroom, we do all three (and more) through the use of technology on a daily basis. In addition to those ideas, students are building basic skills and learning about personal responsibility. When I first started teaching language arts, I sometimes had trouble connecting what we did in the classroom with what students would experience in the world. With the integration of technology into our daily schedule, it has become a much simpler task to convey the usefulness of what we do.
Makes Life Easy!
There are a number of ways that technology makes the classroom easier to navigate for both students and instructors. In my sixth grade classroom, we use Google Classroom and the Google Suite on a daily basis. I post information in the Stream (discussion, links, etc.) and assignments/materials under Classwork. Since integrating Google Classroom into my classroom I have eliminated any issues with missing materials (I can't find it is no longer an excuse) and students are well aware of what is turned in and missing. In programs like Google Docs, I can leave feedback directly on work and return the assignment to the student for them to revise and improve their work. Students can also collaborate with each other with shared documents or by posting revision feedback as well. My district also uses Turnitin which provides writing support, plagiarism checkers, and a drop box for assignments. I use a number of other technology resources in my classroom that have replaced live/paper assignments and materials (Vocabulary, No Red Ink, Grammarly, GradeProof, etc.).
These three advantages are not the complete list of advantages technology affords a language arts classroom, there are many more out there!
References
Mcknight, K., Omalley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194-211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856
Zoch, M., Myers, J., & Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies: Support for implementing technology in the english/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(1). Retrieved from https://www.citejournal.org/volume-17/issue-1-17/english-language-arts/teachers-engagement-with-new-literacies-support-for-implementing-technology-in-the-englishlanguage-arts-classroom
Greetings Ben! Isn't it just amazing how technology can make an instructor's life so much easier? I worked with a colleague a few years ago who refused to take anything onto the technology level in his classes because it was simply "just too much work" (He's in his mid-50s, and claimed that there's just so much more of life to live). Sure, in the beginning there is plenty of work to be done. But, in the long run, it really is amazing how much of one's work is not only streamlined more efficiently, but technology also ultimately, as you put it, "makes the classroom easier to navigate." In my own classes, I feel that this goes beyond just the instructor. I'm sure you may have come across this point in your research, but modeling the effectiveness of using technology in the classroom really inspires the students to find ways to use tech to further heighten their own experiences. It can a sense of ownership for students in their own learning by doing things "their own way" - thus, further supplementing their own, unique learning styles. I just really hope that educators continue to take those "extra steps" to transform their classrooms into one that's filled with useful technology.
ReplyDeleteIt blows me away when my colleagues look at the work I do with my kids on the computer as something impossible for them to do. Or the tools I use to create charts and graphs of the data I have collected as something written in a foreign language. If they only knew the advantage of using technology to make life easier!
ReplyDeleteThere is some learning on the front end but I love the freedom technology gives me to interact with students and build relationships in my classroom. It's crazy that some people claim to be life-long learners but they run away from using tech tools.
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