Integrating Technology in Teaching Writing

What is the educational technology? Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources. The term educational technology is often associated with, and encompasses, instructional theory and learning theory. While instructional technology is "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Definitions and Terminology Committee, educational technology includes other systems used in the process of developing human capability. Educational technology includes, but is not limited to, software, hardware, as well as Internet applications, such as wikis and blogs, and activities. Educational technology has their own advantages, and of course, the disadvantages too.

The advantages are:

a) Better Engagement and Motivation

The use of technology in an elementary school classroom enhances both student engagement and motivation. Student engagement and motivation are closely related during the learning process because the more students are motivated, the more likely they will be successful and engaged in their learning. Students who are often uninterested in learning become more motivated by technology. This motivation and engagement can be related to a specific content area in the classroom or new skills gained by incorporating technology. If teachers can see the power that technology has in motivating students, they can use it to their advantage

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b) Better Instructional Materials

Technology has the opportunity to expand instructional materials beyond a teacher’s wildest dreams. The possibilities are endless for the types of materials made available by technology today. Whether it be technologies available via the internet or software that can be purchased by a district, these resources are expanding and are becoming better and better with each passing moment due to people who are passionate about incorporating technology into the magical process we call learning.

c)Better Communication and Interaction

Technology has become a major foundation for communication and interaction between the classroom and the student’s home life. At the elementary level, some students often forget what their homework is, when it is due, or sometimes forget papers at school that need parent signatures. In addition to having technology provide these things to students, it also makes them available to parents. With technology being involved, students are able to access classroom websites from home, which may contain their homework or other materials from their classroom. With this tool, parents are able to communicate with their child’s teacher as well. This type of communication allows parents to know what is going on in their child’s classroom. When it comes to communication, as stated on http://www.rememberanything.com/benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom/, “technology is an excellent tool for assessment purposes as well as advocacy issues between the students and the teachers”. Students are able to do homework or activities online where their teachers can assess them to see if they understand the information taught in class. This is a great foundation that is making it easier for teachers to assess the information that their students actually know.

d) Increased Family Involvement

As teachers and school districts look at technology, many view technology as an avenue to increase parent and family involvement in the students’ education. Parental involvement is something that is desired by many teachers, but some do not know how to increase the involvement from students’ parents and families. Technology is an appropriate answer to this serious and difficult dilemma that teachers face year after year when trying to get parents involved. If teachers can see the advantages to using technology to communicate with families and use technology correctly to do this, they will also see improvement within their students. This involvement through technology can manifest itself in many forms: classroom websites, emails, grades posted online, etc. With these tools incorporated into the classroom, families are now more than ever before becoming involved in the education of the student by being aware of what is going on in the classroom.

e)Information

A major advantage of the Internet is the ability to access all types of information from library resources all over the world, including magazines, books, newspapers and journal publications, instantaneously. This information increases the learning potential by providing students with the latest information. It also expands the resources of a smaller library tremendously. Students using search engines can find information quicker and more tailored to their specific needs.

The disadvantages are:

a) Inaccurate or out-dated information

As the disadvantage, educators may consider this information overload. With all of the information available to students, they may find it difficult to choose which information is most important to a topic and also when to stop looking. In addition, the validity of Internet sources varies considerably from website to website, which means students can very easily acquire inaccurate or out-dated information online.

b) Online Education

An online education provides students with the convenience of going to class and completing assignments on their own timetable. Students can take classes from a college or university nowhere near their home and get an education experience not available to them locally. Students who travel with a job can take a class in a house, hotel room or coffee shop. Students save on housing, gas money and travel expenses. 

However, an online education means face-to-face instruction does not exist, nor does the ability to get instant feedback on class assignments in many situations. They also can't hear questions from other students (or ask questions themselves), which often can give clarification to a student struggling with the concepts of the material.

c) Virtual Field Trips

An advantage of a classroom Internet connection allows students to take a virtual field trip without ever leaving their school building. Students studying the animals of Africa, the Great Wall of China or the Egyptian pyramids, for example, never have to get on a plane. For schools struggling with budgets and for schools in rural locations, going to an online museum or virtual zoo gives them a unique opportunity they might not otherwise have without Internet access.

Disadvantages of this experience mean students can't ask questions of the zookeeper or touch a snake at a zoo. They can't take pictures or create memories with their classmates. For younger children, a field trip can teach them how to behave in public and respect adults; since virtual field trips don't leave the classroom, they only learn to respect their teacher.

d) Social Skills

The Internet allows students to meet people from all over the world at the click of a button. Suddenly doing a tenth grade literature project on Irish literature with the help of students in Ireland makes the project more interesting and thus a huge advantage. Artists studying Italian architecture can email experts in Italy about the vast amount of artwork.

While these opportunities provide great details and resources, they also can damage social skills. Students who reply primarily on the Internet for information and interaction don't talk to people in person as much; rather they just email back and forth. This can make it hard to develop listening skills, especially when interviewing someone, or to acquire appropriate social skills for face-to-face interactions.