- Classrooms that incorporate computing technology give students a number of advantages.computer class-room image by araraadt from Fotolia.com
More and more computers are present in our daily lives. Whether it be in the places we go to shop, work or relax, there are infinite information machines which provide the opportunity to access vast stores of knowledge, utilize helpful tools to enhance our skills and communicate with one another instantly on a global scale. There is much to gain by placing digital technology in a learning environment. - Years ago, when encountering an unknown word in a passage of text, a student would have to stand up, find a dictionary, flip through its pages and figure out its potentially complex meaning from a simple definition. With the advent of search engines like Google.com, it is possible to research a term or idea to the point of becoming an expert rather quickly. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, histories, technical manuals and more are often free and easily found online.
- Word processors with spellcheck software enable students to find out if they have made an error or not. This will not only save the student time, but also the teacher, who can grade based on the intellectual merit of a paper's content, rather than pointing out easily corrected mistakes. This is only one example of a software tool that can aid in education. Scientific and graphing calculators, conversion tables, and chart-making programs are all potential gateways to producing important academic work for even the beginning scholar.
- Hundreds of years ago, much informal learning took place in coffee shops, where intellectual discussions took place among friends and strangers. Now, we have the opportunity to use chatrooms, social networking websites and topic-related message boards to learn from and teach one another through technology. Also, video streaming websites like Youtube.com offer the chance to show or be shown information, as opposed to merely discussing a subject. The freedom of the informal coffee shop can be made an advantage of classroom technology by letting students and teachers alike communicate in regard to the topic of study.
- In simple terms, a SMART Board is a projector screen that recognizes input from touching the board itself. It is almost as if an entire wall could become a touch-screen interface for a computer program like Microsoft Paint. Being able to save an hour's worth of written notes to be played back in real time for students would be helpful enough, but the potential advantages of incorporating a SMART Board into the classroom do not end there. If one were to imagine the capabilities of a chalkboard combined with the functionality of computer software, the possibilities of classroom teaching with a SMART Board would not be far off. This practical, haptic interface is becoming more and more common in schools of all kinds.
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