Technology is a broad term that can refer to anything from simple stone tools used by our hominid ancestors to modern space rockets. Technological artifacts can help us solve problems, and they can also have unintended consequences, such as creating new social hierarchies or causing pollution.
In the classroom, technology can enhance the learning experience by allowing students to work at their own pace, allowing them to receive one-on-one instruction from teachers and providing them with an opportunity to learn outside the classroom with digital tools. It can also help with organization by making it easier for teachers to post grades and monitor student progress. It can also improve communication between parents, teachers and students by allowing for online grading systems, online parent forums and newsletters.
For the best results when using technology in your teaching, it’s important to plan ahead and make sure you have access to reliable support services. Educators need to spend their time on what matters most: interacting with students and delivering meaningful lessons. Having to spend valuable lesson planning time troubleshooting technology can impede the teacher’s ability to do their job well.
In the age of smartphones, tablet computers and big screen TVs, many people have a narrow definition of what technology means – think gadgets rather than pedagogical tool. But if we take the time to look at the bigger picture, we can understand that technology is more than just a means of accomplishing a task – it’s an intervening power.