Technology in Classrooms

Tablets. Smartphones. Smartboards. The biggest issue society will have to face in the near future is effectively incorporating technology into public schools. There is a mass of new equipment being thrown haphazardly into classrooms. But do teachers know how best to use it, or are they left drowning, trying to determine how to avoid the increased number of student distractions that inevitably accompany it? This is the newest challenge. How much is too much? Technology has the potential to revolutionize the classroom if used correctly, but it could also be severely detrimental to the education of our students.
Initially, the most difficult part is discovering all of the possible uses for the new equipment. A tablet, for instance, is usually used for playing games, checking email, and using social media. For some subjects, it is easier to relate these uses productively to the curriculum than it is for others. A common example is English versus math. In an English class, a tablet can be used for projects, researching information, working collaboratively with other students via email, social media, or both. In a math class, this same tablet appears to be more of a hindrance than a help. Typing math symbols is more effort than it’s worth, games always seem more interesting than learning the lesson, and there aren’t usually research projects about algebra. Despite these obvious barriers however, tablets can actually become a useful tool in all classrooms. There are many apps that can aide in learning, and more are being created every day. “Factor Factory”, “Picturing Fractions”, and “Khan Academy” can all be helpful in a math classroom, especially on a review day. Khan Academy is especially useful for students, as it has coherent lessons for several different subjects, and many levels within each. There are apps for teachers as well, including some for monitoring students’ progress and aides for planning lessons. All in all, having tablets in the