Sunday, November 9, 2008

Technology and Youth: Wired Schools and Wired Lives

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#issue

This article emphasizes how much technology has increased in the lives of our students. "A recent survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project (Hitlin & Rainie, 2005) found that roughly 21 million youth between the ages of 12 through 17—approximately 87 percent of the entire age bracket—use the Internet." www.ncrel.org. The article also stated how 88% of students find that the Internet helps them do better in school. Using the Internet Students find useful ways to complete projects, study for test, and research. With these statistics it is hard to imagine students spending 6.5 hours in school without using technology. That is why it is extremely important for teachers to find ways to educate themselves on how to implement technology into the classroom.

2 comments:

Miss Caleffe said...

Lauren,

Every single one of my students from the wealthiest to the poorest ALL want to use the computer and be on the Internet. They LOVE lessons that use technology...any type, but we still have teachers that refuse to use it because they are scared of it and don't want to change their teaching style. I have been going head to head with some teachers recently over this issue which is why this jumped out at me. I feel we could reach so many more students and give students that don't have the opportunities at home to experiences they may never have a chance to get. The world is changing, kids are changing so we as their educators owe it to them to change along with it and stop fighting the increase of technology in our everyday lives. Thanks for the article...I will be sharing with some fellow teachers :)
Lisa

EStrauch said...

Lauren,

I really enjoyed reading that article. It was very enlightening and really makes you wonder if you are implementing technology enough in the classroom. There are so many ways to implement it, but I feel school districts should put more emphasis on encouraging teachers to use it more often and offer workshops in new ways to implement it. I know that if I was not taking classes about using technology in the classroom I would be more hesistant to use it. Great article!