Week 2 - Using Technology in the Classroom

One of the key issues highlighted by the weekly readings is the fact that children are not adequately prepared for the 21st Century. Using technology in the classroom is highlighted by the White Paper, 'How digital tools prepare students for the 21st century', as a way of overcoming this problem. I totally agree with this stance and I explored this issue in detail in my Issues in Education assignment last semester. What the workshops have highlighted for me is that using technology is about more than using educational software to enhance teaching and learning; it is also about teaching students how to use a whole range of different software programmes that they will come across in the working world.

What's more research has shown that using technology in this way equips students with a number of essential skills, for example:

• information and data management skills
• analytical skills
• thinking and learning skills
• reading comprehension

All of these skills are invaluable in today's technology rich society and therefore ICT needs to be an integral part of everyday teaching and learning.

My key concern is that teachers and student teachers and not being adequately prepared to use technology effectively in their classroom. The fact that this course has been reduced from 18 weeks to 6 weeks, for example, is testament to the fact that not enough emphasis is being placed on this aspect of teaching and year after year teachers are graduating without these essential skills. What's more millions of dollars are being spent on Interactive Whiteboards for schools which are then just being used like traditional whiteboards. If we are to have any hope of better preparing students for a future we cannot predict we need to have the training and support required to develop these skills.