Innovative Uses of Technology in Content Area Classrooms

Innovative Uses of Technology in Content Area Classrooms

Introduction

Technology has been implemented in almost every field. People have started using technology in their everyday lives. Technology has now become an integral part of our work life, as well, as personal life. Without technology nothing is possible in today's world. The only field left where technology has not been entirely integrated is education. Though there are schools where technology is implemented and students are taught using the technology, there are few schools and some fields in education where technology has not been implemented. One such field is content (Strommen & Lincoln, 1992). Content requires learning of effective writing skills, and for excellent writing, reading is required. Gone are the days when students were handed over loads of books to read and analyze. Today students want books that are available online so that they can read them easily and can improve their reading and writing ability.

One major reason why technology is not implemented in the content area classrooms is due to the lack of funds. Schools that are located in districts are small and do not have funds to implement technology in their classes. Content area classrooms are found in such schools. This is the reason this district has been offered a million dollar grant from ISTE. They think that technology is an essential part of education in today's world. They realize the importance which is why they have given a million dollars to the district school so that they can implement technology in their school. This will enable students to save time and learn more. The students will be able to take advantage of the different uses of technology.

Effectiveness of Technology

Technology has a lot of uses in education. It is very effective in improving the reading fluency of students. Teachers assign readings and ask the students to read a book that is available on the internet. All students have to do is to search for the book and read the book or the assigned material (Richard, Et. al, 1997). This way student can learn a lot and can also improve their reading ability. They can finish reading in less time as compared to when they were given the task of reading books that they had to purchase. The reading fluency of the student is also achieved because he can instantly search the meaning of the difficult vocabulary that he comes across while reading.

Educational Technology and Learning

One of the best-known proponents of this perspective, Richard E. Clark, argue that media can never influence learning, because media are “mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition.” Substantial empirical evidence supports this perspective. A meta-analysis conducted in 2004 synthesized 232 studies published between 1985 and 2002 studying the effectiveness of distance education technologies. Analysis found that research methodology accounted for the most variation in outcomes, followed by pedagogical approach, and then ...