Enhancing Learning Through Technology Week One

The articles that I read this week were very informational. I will start off with the Meta Analysis article on Teaching and Learning with Technology. This was a difficult article to read because I have never really read research articles before. After getting the major point of the article, a lot of the gibberish started to make sense.

The main underlying theme that I think the authors were getting at that even though technology is great for enhancing student learning, instructors must incorporate it in a way that challenges students and brings the students to use the technology to learn. In classroom settings that I have witnessed, teachers like to use program such as PowerPoint to "entertain" students. Instructors need to be trained in how to effectively use the programs to enhance learning.

Our school district is starting to use a variety of programs such as Sentios and Smartboards. While this are cool devices, and VERY expensive, I am not seeing the major applications that teachers are getting for students. Teachers I have seen use them as entertaining modes for their students. Is that what we are really trying to "Teach"?

The second major thing I pulled out of the article is the comments the authors made about lack of research into some of the technologies being used. There is not a lot of research into the use of technologies in our classrooms. While this article does a good job of shedding light on it, there is still not enough funds being distributed into the research of the programs. If we want to move further into the technology world, dedicated instructors, like ourselves, will need to spend restless nights to finding solutions to our technological classrooms.

The other article that I looked at this wek talked about Teaching Principles. When I read this, I tried relating it technological usage in our classroom. Teachers must identify the specifics as to why they are using certain programs in their classroom and the affect the said technologies are having on the students. Without clear objectives and assessments for Technological Usage, teachers are doing a disservice to the students because the underlying question of "Why are we doing this?" still lingers.

The final article that I read was about Learning Principles. When I read this article, the main theme that came to me was students need to know what they are doing and what purpose it has for their learning process. By implementing Technological devices that have clear and concise purposes, students learning will increase.

Finally, the textbook that we are reading is very interesting as I just finished a class where I read Classroom Instruction that Works. The materials in the first three chapters offered me a insight on how I could use technology to better the lessons that I have already integrated from my other course.