The use of technology in the classroom brings about with it many benefits. It not only adds to the curriculum learning, but also prepares students for an integrated society where technology or ICT dominates.
Technology integration in the classroom is an instructional choice by teachers to introduce, reinforce, extend, enrich, assess and remediate student mastery of curricular targets. It mostly includes collaboration and deliberate planning. Teachers should never depend on technology for teaching. Technology integration also requires teacher participation by using appropriate scaffolding and support for students in the form high impact evidence based ICT teaching strategies.
These are the top 10 benefits of technology in the classroom today.
Improves student achievement
With thoughtful planning, students can find lessons engaging by which this leads to 21st century skills such as complex thinking, creative problem-solving and collaboration.
Develops students’ ICT capability and ICT literacy
While technology supports subject learning, it can remain transparent in the background and help promote the development of these 21st century skills.
Strengthens teachers’ competence in ICT
Teachers can also build on their capacity as a technology integrator by continuing to learn the best practices in the classroom and develop their own ICT capability. For teachers, like students, it is not just about acquiring ICT skills, but developing understanding and judgement about how to use those skill appropriately. For example, you might decide to use PowerPoint for a presentation. This would depend on your judgement of the group or class and whether you believe it would be better than other teaching techniques.
Encourages collaboration
This is a great benefit as it naturally has the capabilities to bring children together. In turn, this also promotes the development of language and literacy especially in early childhood education.
Mobile apps help systematic learning
Mobile learning is really starting to take off in schools these days and that means that teachers and students can benefit from the educational apps out there. It is significant though, that teachers choose wisely to ensure that each is capable of helping students achieve the learning outcomes.
Stay connected to the outside world
In the modern age of Wifi, most classrooms are connected to the Internet. Even cable connectivity is not a problem these days for schools as technology gets installed so does cables. It is common these days for newly built schools to be fully wired in most classrooms.
Allows every individual to learn on the same playing field
Everyone has different learning styles, however, with technology SEN students can learn with their more able friends from the curriculum. Technology levels the playing field for everyone allowing disabled students access to curriculum learning.
Prepares students to be well-equipped for technology-dominated society
More industries today are depending on employees to have some sort of ICT proficiency. By providing students with meaningful context-driven activities with embedded ICT tasks you can prepare them for their future.
Creates more engaged and better teachers
Technology integration in the classroom is the key as it provides great resources especially to information from the Internet, but also as it provides effective ICT tools that can be used for educational purposes. It will be important that you understand:
- How to use the technology;
- How to train students to use the technology;
- How the technology supports your curriculum and;
- What benefits does technology bring to your lesson?
If you are going to introduce new software to students always remember to start discussing what it can do and how this might be achieved, rather than merely demonstrating a fixed sequence of techniques.