Building Technology into the Learning Standards

Educators find creative ways to use technology to improve learning outcomes and assessments.

Highlights

• The learning standards and frameworks are designed to provide a “consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn” and should be “robust and relevant to the real world.”
• Teachers are reevaluating their learning materials and adding technology elements to ensure they align with the new standards.
• This is a chance for educators to embrace technology in the classroom.

The 21st Century Classroom involves more than just the latest technological devices. It is how Interactive Technology, Digital Tools, the Internet, and a Teacher armed with the right knowledge combine to provide a learning environment that engages today’s students in learning.

• Interactive technology that engages the student and encourages collaboration among students by using projectors, document cameras, interactive boards or interactive pads, student response systems, computers and or tablets
• Digital tools that combine information and opportunities for learning from e-books, virtual field trips, video, the Internet, and more into a seamless whole that allows the lesson to take center stage, not the technology
• The Internet is a vast source of information and knowledge, but without the right tools and training it can also become an equally vast source of distractions and misinformation. Making the Internet work for Education is a huge part of recognizing the potential of this resource.
• The best technology can’t make a difference without a skilled and professional teacher who has been trained to use it. A teacher who is as comfortable enough with these tools that they become a transparent part of the learning process.

The role of a teacher today has evolved to where it involves not only teaching, but being a facilitator of information that students can use on a daily basis. If the curriculum is not relevant, many students become disengaged from learning. The technological tools that are available today, allow the teacher to present concepts to students in a variety of ways. The use of 21st century technology such as the Internet, interactive whiteboards, classroom response systems, document cameras, podcasts, one to one initiatives, and distance learning allows for the utilization of many different learning styles so that every student is reached.

Twenty years ago, we had pencil, paper and overhead projectors. Today the 21st Century Classroom lets us create a learning environment richer, more engaging, and more customized to a given student’s needs than ever before.