Friday, September 12, 2008

Technology Definitely Makes a Positive Impact

Technology definitely makes an impact, not only on students, but on parents. Last night was Back to School night at my daughters' school. The 2nd grader's teacher used Power Point for her presentation to the parents. Her presentation was well organized, easy to follow, and was visually pleasing. My kindergartner's teacher did not use any technology in her presentation and the difference was evident. The presentation was not as "professional", lacked in organization and did not have any visuals for the "visual learner". As a former businesswoman, who is comfortable with technology, I can absolutely guarantee that I will use Power Point in my Back to School night presentations!

4 comments:

Mark Rindfuss said...

Teran,

I completely agree with you on your argument made for technology in the classroom. I believe that students are becoming very accustomed to newer technologies like Ipods and cell phones that teachers also need to keep up with the many changes that are being made in the world today. Back to school nights are a great way for teachers to showoff the technology in their classroom and give the parents a better idea of how that technology is used in schools today.

Mark

tmccloskey10 said...

Taran,
I've had some experience with using technology during back to school night. I video taped my students and then showed the parents the different things we were doing in class. I noticed the parents really enjoying seeing their kids in action. It doesn't take much to put something together and it definitely makes a big difference. It helps you become more prepared and organized, along with not causing you to have to talk so much. Talk to you later.
Tommy

Mr. Healy said...

It is interesting to watch certain educators who've been in "the business" for years. Some buy right in, while others are very reluctant.

From my perspective as a younger member of the profession, if a medium can enhance learning, encourage student enthusiasm, and make the teacher's job easier, then I'll use it everyime.

Lastly, when I hear that first graders are utilizing PowerPoint, it shocks me, at first. Then, I think, "why not?" If technology can benefit my high school classroom, why can't it benefit an elementary classroom, too?

Thanks!

Taran said...

Thanks for all of your comments. It seems that all of us are on the same page about technology. Regardless of our age or experiences in teaching, we all seem to embrace the use of technology. To me, this signifies "forward thinking" because we are not afraid to use the tools available to us, instead we are actually looking to use these tools in order to enrich the learning experience. This can only lead to better and broader experiences for students.