Technology and the Elementary Classroom

The more I read about technology integration in schools, the more I am feeling that being tech savvy is not just helpful, it is now starting to become a critical and necessary skill for teachers that seek employment today and in the future. These days, schools are not only wireless and using a wide array of technology (i.e. interactive boards, computers, tablets etc.), they are utilizing the internet more readily- forcing teachers to be able to manage data, create, plan, communicate, and teach online more than ever before. The article, In the Future, Diverse Approaches to Schooling, predicts that as more options become available, our schools will change as quickly and fundamentally as our libraries and the way we have adapted our tactics for searching for information (2010).  Teachers must therefore, be prepared for such a change.  I would argue that new teachers, such as myself, will have to attempt to view a teaching position not as we see it now, but as a profession that will adapt greatly throughout our career. Hill and Johnston state, “An increasing number of children will attend schools that deliver instruction, use time, and define the work of teachers and students very differently” (Hill and Johnston 2010).  I believe that the roles of students and teachers would change quite dramatically over the coming years as well. The article gives several reasons for this, including the entrepreneurial spirit of technology innovators and state and localities faced with budget issues that will seek cost-effective solutions. Along with these reasons, I think that global competition that we are only beginning to see the effects of, will force us to shift our current educational norms and adapt to a technologically advanced future for our children’s economic livelihood. The good news with a transition like this is how accessible education would become. Hill and Johnston state, “Virtual schools also have appeal outside major cities, especially in remote areas where students might not be able to get to school every day or in small districts that can’t find qualified instructors in key subjects such as science and mathematics” (Hill and Johnston 2010).  This would have direct implications with how education works in places like rural Alaska, as it would throughout the world. If such a dramatic shift does take place, I know that I will not want to be left behind, but will want to become as technologically literate as possible so as to be competitive as a teacher.

Hill, P and Johnston, M. In the Future, Diverse Approaches to Schooling.  Phi Delta Kappan, Nov 2010, Vol. 92 Issue 3.