Technology: a staple in the every day American life. Wake up in the morning to an alarm clock, pop in your music player’s headphones, then jump in a car to get your day started. Many view technology as a life changing luxury, making lives easier and quicker. But how could it be used in school?
Already, schools have at its disposal a valuable technological instrument: the Internet. “We have information ready at our fingertips,” Ms. Amy DeVaul said. “[The Internet] makes researching easier, and isn’t as time consuming.”
Like Ms. DeVaul, many teachers utilize the Internet to provide an easier system for their students. With the website, my.ccsd.net, teachers are able to post homework assignments, class notes, and any other information a student may have missed. This not only frees up class time previously used to take care of these matters, but also increases student responsibility to keep up with these updates. “It’s easier to find information that is hard to get a hold of,” Junior Joel Jaime said.
Schools also use other means of technology that aides not at home, but in the classroom. Many rooms contain an ELMO projector and a SMART board. ELMO’s, which display a live feed of what is in the camera, is a helpful tool to teachers. Free from the constraints of transparencies, overhead markers, and black and white, teachers are able to easily display and model things for their students.
SMART boards, a piece of technology used by not as many teachers, also provides its advantages. Mainly used by mathematics teachers, the SMART boards allow problems to be shown, worked out, and explained to students without the hassle of white board markers not being dark enough, or not erasing thoroughly when more space is required.
“An iPad is good tool for books,” DeVaul said. The use of technology can be brought to a personal level in schools. With recent innovation in hand-held technology, such as in iPods and iPads, students could have the potential to use these to help in school in many ways. Both of these devices provide ways for students to take notes and download required books for school. Not only would this lighten the weight of many students’ backpacks, but also it would be easy to access and convenient.