Teaching with technology

Technology plays an integral role across all walks of life. It has a significant impact on all industries and education is no exception. Today’s students are going to enter a society where they will be expected to be able to not only use but be efficient and literate in many technologies. The use of technology in schools not only has the ability to deliver these skills but also provides teachers with an engaging, highly beneficial educational tool.

Motivating and engaging students is always a difficult task, however we know students learn better and behave better when this can be achieved. Technology is a great tool for achieving this as it can encapsulate many different learning styles at once. As Becta 2007 illustrates “One of the most frequently cited findings is that of increased motivation and improved engagement exhibited by pupils when ICT is used in learning and teaching” pg 25. Becta’s research also found the when using ICT students submitted longer and better written and presented pieces of work.

There is also the argument that technology can foster creativity and encourage independent learning. Research by Loveles as cited in Becta 2007 indicated that:

“learners and teachers could use ICT to support imaginative expression, autonomy and collaboration, fashioning and making, pursing purpose, being original and judging value. ICT could offer opportunities to be creative in authentic contexts in ways which were not formerly possible or accessible” pg 27

Practical examples of this include use of animation, video, web-page design, blogs, wikis, digital comics and narratives, chatrooms and interactive posters all of which focus on the higher level of blooms taxonomy create.

ICT can provide a medium where students can become self directed learners, it allows them to work at their own pace, which can a be fantastic tool for catering for all the different levels students are at. It has been shown that many software programs can help students with learning difficulties, in particular in the areas of numeracy and literacy. ICT also allows students access to work from home which can beneficial for advanced students. Works that student produce online can be accessed by students, staff and parents at any time and also classmates, which provides an opportunity for peer input and formative assessment. Becta 2007 states “ICT appears to support and encourage greater activity inquiry or problem based learning and independent study” pg 29.

When we take what technology has to offer and apply it to the classroom with the knowledge we have about education it is possible to create an engaging, challenging and rich learning environment for our students.

-Fiona Perry

References: 

Condie R. & Munro, B. 2007, Impact of ICT in School: A Landscape
Review [Section 5] , Coventry, UK: BECTA, viewed 24 February 2008,