4. Improvement of GPAs/Laptop Use in Classroom Program Enrollment Cumulative Grade Point Average Grade Laptop Non-Laptop 6 3.50 3.13 7 3.28 2.94 8 3.23 3.07
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Notes de l'éditeur
According to one on one article and immersion of laptop article, there is a lot of evidence which suggests and proves in a few schools that laptop use and other technology use has greatly improved student learning. Groups which did not have the access struggled more, according to the Gulek and Demirtas article. 259 middle school students were part of this survey and their research explained many of the big differences in test scores and GPA. The following chart is a big example of GPAs from the study.
The biggest difference we see is between the 6 th graders. This further explains the need to get students involved in technology from an early age in schools. Students pick ideas up better at a younger age and this would be a good explanation of why this may be a possibility. You see the change continue with the 7 th graders. The 8 th graders had the smallest change, but they still had better marks than those without laptops. A possible reason for this may be the evolution of education as students are moving toward high school and a change in curriculum may be happening.
According to research done by Gulek and Demirtas, Grade 6 had a 10% difference between laptop and non-laptop users in Language tests on the STAR norm-referenced test and a 13% difference on the Math portion. The 7 th graders had a 10% difference in Language and a 7% difference in Math. The 8 th graders showed a 12% difference in Language and a 6% in Math. The numbers show us once again as another way to decipher between the benefits of using technology, in this case laptops, and not using technology. Overall we see many different benefits of using technology in the classroom. Using it in the classroom shows improvement in test scores, national testing, and GPAs as well.
We have a tendency to focus so much on the needs of the students, we forget about what teachers need in the classroom. Teachers in Peggy Ertmer’s article on technology integration discusses some of the issues for teachers for integrating technology for teachers and the concerns they have. Many teachers discussed the concerns over how to handle the changing technology and knowing and understanding how to work it. It doesn’t matter if they don’t have access to the technology as is. Many schools are facing budget deficits in today’s world and some technology is among the first to go. Look at student scores to understand the importance of technology on classroom settings.
Going through some of the ideas of classrooms with technology, it is clear to see and understand the importance of technology on the classroom. As we discussed before, the changes in technology are occurring in the real world and students need to be prepared for this. Technology clearly allows the interaction to take place in many different ways among students and teachers in the classrooms. Computers, Wikis, Moodles, and many of the different changing aspects of technology have caused the need to see a growth of use in classrooms. We need to give students more opportunities to get involved in these different items in the classrooms.
Khe Foon Hew and Thomas Brush discuss in their article on knowledge gaps and technology integration the need for education for teachers who do not use technology enough in their classroom. The idea that we need technology is nothing new, but the worry about how teachers can integrate it into their classroom can be fearful for some. Teachers and administrators need to develop better ways to implement new ideas into classroom technology integration. This process is difficult for older teachers because some of them refuse to give into the change with technology. Many teachers are satisfied teaching the same way for 30 years and technology has showed us the importance in changing the way we teach students in the classroom.
A SMART Board is something we see developing quickly in classrooms and many teachers are not comfortable in using it. A SMART board is something which a teacher can use to more directly interact with a computer on whiteboard technology. It allows more flexibility in the classroom. Many teachers are uneducated on the idea and need some type of Professional Development to improve themselves and their teaching style. We cannot avoid this because of the changes in technology taking place today.
We cannot avoid the fact that technology is here to stay. The classroom is the best place to keep kids interested in learning and technology gives us the opportunity to hook students into the idea of learning, especially in a fun and exciting way. As we have seen, thanks to technology, we have seen improvements in testing and GPAs. This is a positive step in the right direction thanks to technology. Teachers need to be given the access to technology in order to help students reach their goals. We need to develop new and innovative ideas to give teachers the opportunity to teach students with the best and newest technology out there. Finally, we need to give teachers the opportunity to learn about these technologies to make them more apt to teach students about the new and exciting changes taking place in the world today. Thank you.