EDTC 5010 Chapter 3

EDTC 5010 Chapter 3

 

 

            Education is a continuous life long process and it is important to remain current on the technological tools that aid in our education.  These tools allow us the accessibility of the outside world at our fingertips.  The four categories of tools that comprise the digital classroom currently are computers, mobile devices, peripherals, and data storage devices.  Each category consist of many different types of that tool or device that are each individually influenced by the platform they use, their connectivity, networking capabilities, the device software, and the file format.  As an educator, having a complete and evolving understanding of these tools and devices in the way in which they relate to one another will significantly increase the facilitation of learning in the classroom.

 

 

            Computers allow us to access the internet, create documents, graphs, and spreadsheets to find, analyze, and generate information to share.  Peripherals can then be used to display or hand out the information.  Data storage devices allow us to store large quantities of information in smaller mobile devices that can transfer the information to other devices by as simply as plugging it in to that device.  There are also a number of mobile devices that allow us to play, record and capture media, find, evaluate, and create information to share as well as connecting on the go with other people and devices.  These tools are an important component of today’s classroom to help prepare our future workforce with the competencies to succeed in the ever changing digital world, and as educators we must know and utilize these tools to do so. 

 

            In today’s increasingly digital mobile world, the common desktop computer is becoming less and less favored in the classroom.  While there are many drawbacks to desktop computers as compared to mobile devices, they do still have a few advantages.  The desktop computer is more ideal for group work (when computers/devices are in short supply) with a larger monitor display. It is also more user friendly in regards to typing on a traditional keyboard as opposed to typing on an IPad keyboard.  I much prefer to type on a traditional keyboard over a touch screen keyboard because the words per minute I can type on that style keyboard increases drastically.  I feel that perhaps the greatest advantage of having students working on desktop computers is that the teacher can easily see exactly what the students are working on, ensuring that they are staying on task.  When I have my entire class in a computer lab working on an assignment, I can take one quick look around the room and see all the monitor screens clearly, and know whether each student is on task or if they are accessing material irrelevant to the assignment.  However many the advantages to using desktop computers, mobile devices are becoming increasingly popular within the classroom and for good reason.  “Mobile devices are cheaper, more portable, and physically less obtrusive, especially during collaborative work.” The school I work at is currently in preparation to initiate a one to one learning environment in which every student will be assigned a mobile device for the entirety of their K-12 education.  They will be held responsible for all lost or damaged devices.  Each device will be imbedded with software that correlates to the current common core standards of their current grade level.  These devices will help to ensure student-centered instruction in an open-ended learning environment.

 

            The basis of any educational system is to educate, develop and train students into becoming successful high functioning members of society so that they may help make our future community, nation and world a better place.  To do so, we must provide our students with the tools to succeed in the future.  In the digital world of today, digital devices are used in almost every job market from farming to politics.  In order for our current students to succeed in the future, we must provide them with the tools from our digital world as best we can to create a digital classroom.  Training and development is an expensive business practice for any business, and companies prefer to hire the candidate that will need the least training and development especially in the field of technology.   Not only will producing tech savvy students give them a distinct advantage in the job markets they wish to be hired in, it also creates a generation who has learned to think for themselves while collaborating with others.  Digital devices are vital in creating an open-ended learning environment that will ensure these types of future adults, which is why the cost of these devices is irrelevant because the future well-being of our nation and world is priceless.