Technology in Elementary Education

I have been fortunate enough to recently work in the classroom with smaller children, and can not imagine what the teaching experience was like before technology developed into its modern form. Technology is not only visually supporting but there are so many advancements today that can enhance the classroom learning experience for smaller children, in some instances making it easier for the teacher to emphasize areas of importance. I am an adamant supporter of utilizing technology in the classroom, for so often children do not possess the mental maturity to listen to lengthy discussions and the technology provides more hands-on stimulation that sustains their attention better. Also classroom instructional methods can be modified to incorporate tools that are common in the student's communities such as visual gaming, and the use of characters familiar in popular television programming. Many kids share a discomfort with hand-writing but can text rather frequently and easily if given the opportunity for they are so comfortable with the gadgets of technology.

According to an article published in the Journal of Research on Technology in Education, technology can be used to prepare lesson plans and it has strong support form the Department of Education which states that technology makes it less challenging to individualize instructions for students, in particular for a classroom that has students on multiple learning levels. A major obstacle to the use of technology has been the degree of discomfort to some educators in using technology, in particular those less familiar with advancing trends in technology. This can be overcome by committing resources to training, and by obtaining outside contractual support where needed to assist in bringing all students up to the same comprehensive speed (Schmid, 2008).

After considering technology and education, I would like to reflect on my experience in a class lab working with twitter. This is a socially connecting service, which grew in popularity during the 2008 presidential campaign. After working with it, I honestly wasn't sold on it yet, for I am not much for texting just anyone, and people that I converse with it over the web tend to be a different group of individuals from those on my cellular phone, so I see no reason to consolidate these interactions. I think it may be more suitable for those who text a lot of people, from a multitude of social circles, be it school, church, family, work, etc. Yet, I am still open to growing on it for I was slow embracing online banking also.


Schmid, R., Miodrag, N., & Di Francesco, N. (2008, Fall2008). A Human-Computer Partnership:
The Tutor/Child/Computer Triangle Promoting the Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills.
Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41(1), 63-84. Retrieved February 4, 2009,
from Computer Source database.