Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Emerging Technologies

We consider emerging technologies all those contemporary advances and innovation in various fields of technology which help improve our classrooms.

IT Opportunities in Education Market provided a survey to 500 educators k-12 and college level about emerging classroom technologies. The report found that 78% of the teachers and administrators say technology has had a positive impact on the classroom!.

The new technological advances have improved students performance in the classroom. With technology, students have become more productive, allowing students to access unlimited and quicker information, opposed to the limited resources available at a school library. Students are able to watch videos of lectures for homework purposes and with that information, help other students in class. 
Classrooms equipped with computers and other gadgets bring students great enthusiasm and higher attendance rates.

College students lead the Unites Stated in internet use and gadget ownership. This means that for your generations, technology use is not only appreciated, but expected for the future workforce.

In assessing these new technologies applied in the classrooms, educators should consider asking themselves a few questions. Question teachers should ask themselves include;

Is it safe for my students?
What do I have to do to maintain it?

Also, it is important to actively assess the students relationship with technology.  Looks at;
-Students attitude regarding the technology
-Students level of motivation
-Students level of interest.
-Whether students learn on their own
Whether technology served more as a distraction than beneficial tool to the classroom

Other techniques to assess technology in the classroom can be found in the video above.



Understanding the use of traditional technologies

We are often taken away by the new technological advances that are introduced at a daily basis. We unfortunately fail to consider the appropriate use of traditional technologies that are used in the classroom.
Some of the traditional technologies that are available to us in classrooms usually underestimated and not used property. Some of these are;

The Good old Chalkboard, Dry Erase Board and/or a Whiteboard. These "old School" technologies are widely found, inexpensive and very convenient.

These technologies provide visual reinforcement for students. These boards also provide the opportunity for teachers to draw pictures or diagrams for students to learn.
The use of these boards allows activities to be created in the classroom for students to participate reinforcing the information



Another traditional technology some teachers have refused to use over the years are the slide projectors and the overheard projectors. These offer and reinforce visual characteristics the chalkboard cannot. The overheard projector offers the classroom a bright and colorful presentation where students can observe and learn. An additional advantage to the slide projector is the use of slides that can be run automatically.  These are both inexpensive and allow students to learn in different visual ways.

Do you remember watching videos in class through a VCR?!



Another set traditional technologies that have been used for decades are the TVs, VCR, Film and DVDs. These have used in almost every classroom until the use of computers, youtube and others have been introduced.
Classrooms provided educational videos, clips, movies and documentaries through a TV in the classroom, DVD or VCR. These educational instruments provided students with a different style of learning, where observation and sounds reinforced the information taught in the classroom.
As time has gone by, the use of these instruments has improved and become less dependable.


The last but less thought of traditional technologies are the appropriate use of your classroom setting and the teachers use of voice and body movements.
The classroom plays a big role in a students learning ......   An appropriate classroom setting allows some students to focus on the teacher, feel comfortable and even feel connected to the environment.
The teacher's  tone of voice and vocabulary play a big role in teaching and bringing the attention of the students. Teachers can also reenact and express specific ...by positive and appropriate body language