Summary:
In the article, How
Technology Can Boost Student Engagement, Liane Wardlow points out the benefits
technology can have in the classroom, especially regarding student
engagement. The article starts with a
statistic from Gallup’s 2013 State of America’s Schools reporting “that 55% of
students are engaged in the learning process, while 28% are not engaged, and
17% are actively disengaged. Wardlow
points out that technology could be one of the key factors in increasing
student engagement. Technology can be
used as a tool by teachers to create and present content. Instruction is then more interesting and
relevant to students and they become more engaged and active in their learning. Students can also be more involved in their
learning by using the technology to create and share things.
Technology can engage
students not only individually, but in groups as well. A school in Meridan, Idaho has been working
to use technology in ways other than individual students glued to a
screen. Instead, they have students work
collaboratively to create and learn using technology. As part of the article, Wardlow includes a
video featuring the Idaho school.
Students and teachers discuss the use of technology as part of their education. The end of the video includes three guiding
questions to consider:
- How can I plan digital activities that maintain student interest, engage them in deep learning, while still meeting standards?
- How can I create an environment for students to monitor their own progress while setting and reaching goals.
- How can I use technology seamlessly throughout my lessons to enable student interaction with content while enlisting student responses?
Increased student
engagement leads to increased scores and better attitudes toward learning. The goal is that a variety of technology
tools being used in classrooms will help reach the half of currently disengaged
students.
Reflection:
There were two portions of the article that I found most
interesting. First, there is a quote by
an educator stating that by students having technology in front of them they
are able to create and innovate things.
By having students using things like Photoshop or other programs they
are able to create completely unique projects.
Later in life, they can become artists, filmmakers, or web
designers. This really struck me because
often when I see technology being used in our school, it is very simple
implementation. Sometimes it’s watching
videos, playing games, practicing math problems. I think it’s important to remember the idea
of using technology for students to create things and think critically. I have Chromebooks for every student and
after reading this article it is more evident that I need to plan more involved
lesson plans.
This leads to the second portion of the article that I
found interesting. I thought the guiding
questions in the video will be extremely beneficial in helping create engaging
and challenging activities using technology.
I think these questions would be beneficial for our entire school to
consider when using technology.
Unfortunately we do not have a computer teacher in our building. Students have 30-60 minutes of computer time
per week, however the teachers are completely in charge of planning how the
time is spent. Teachers really need to
consider implementing activities that will engage students while challenging
them at the same time.
Wardlow, L. (2014, May 1). How
Technology Can Boost Student Engagement - Pearson Research & Innovation
Network. Retrieved from
http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/elearning/technology-can-boost-student-engagement
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