Educational technology Philosophy

When it comes to technology, there is a significant amount of advancements that can be

brought into the classroom. Introducing technology can help educators advance and adapt to all

types of learners while still ensuring that every student is in the right page. Though many efforts

have been made to be able to provide each student a device that is connected to the internet, I do

believe there are some restrictions to be made when it comes to the use of technology. As it has

been mentioned many times before, technology serves as a tool and it should not be the

replacement of an educator or of the benefits a student can achieve through personal connections

and through working together with peers.

Reinforce Learning

One of the major reasons why technology is a key tool for educators is the because of

aspect that it serves to reinforce learning. Technology can be used to present information

differently to students that tend to learn in different ways, “students need to interact with the

material presented to them, sometimes repeatedly and using different approaches” (Lever and

Duffy). The idea that technology is a tool can be easily reinforced by this idea, teacher can

present a subject and clarifications on the subject to later allow students to explore and gain

knowledge through these technology devices while still having a teacher as a helping source.

When the teacher is serving another student, the students who need assistance can look for help

through the internet. This process can help the student to ask effective questions, .

Technology can also help instructors to effectively give everyone of their students

practice in the necessary subjects to help students stay on track. There are many different apps

that students can use at home with these available technologies to help students practice the skills
they need the most help in and still be affordable to use outside the classroom, “… technology

tools to do so are abundant, often free, and always expanding” (Lever and Duffy). Technology is

serving as a building block to allow educators to be able to cater and assign students with the

needed skills and equipment’s to continuously develop their learning. The apps that have been

developed can help students who have lower reading levels catch up with the rest of a class. In

addition, students who lack certain math skills can use apps to help strengthen their learning and

help cater the skills on which they lack understanding.

Address Diversity

As a future Special Education educator, I can recognize that some technologies help cater

those students who might have a disability. Being able to understand that students are diverse in

many different aspects such as economical levels, ethnicity, culture, learning styles, and

intelligence can help one understand why technology is so important. When technology is

applied and used correctly it can be used to reinforce a child’s learning, “Council for

Accreditation of Educators preparation… address the design, implementation, and evaluation of

curriculum and experiences and articulate future educators’ … include numerous references to

skills every teacher needs to address diversity” (Lever and Duffy). The idea that teachers are

being trained to be able to cater each one of these needs is essential. Like mentioned before,

technology is a tool and it will only really be useful when an educator is proficient in analyzing

these skills. The thing that technology lack is being able to understand each students background,

ethnicity or economic standing, teacher, however, are more insightful to such things because of

the location the schools are placed and are able to notice and see student interactions with one

another.
Foster Critical Thinking

Technology can help foster critical thinking in an efficient way. Technology offers

different ways for students to be able to showcase their learning moving beyond listening and

observing their teachers. Technology and the apps developed within these technologies can help

students be able to engage in learning in many ways, “… They must also engage in the content

by discussing, writing, debating, collaborating, researching, or performing a mix of these”

(Levey and Duffy). Like described before, the idea of the teacher serving as a primary source of

knowledge is impactful but when educators allow their students to expand their knowledge by

demonstrating it and supporting their learned information in various ways is also very effective

and it allows students to go beyond the simple method of remembering and repeating the given

information.

The idea that software’s and games are also developed for students to be able to engage

and understand content-oriented learning, “Complex problem-solving games such as those

offered … that involve implementing the logic necessary for complex web searches promote

content-oriented critical thinking skills while entertaining and engaging learners” (Levey and

Duffy). These same software’s are what serve for student to be able to determine how efficient

certain content and materials are. This also provides students to be able to analyze and

understand the significance in checking their resources and understanding key differences

between secondary and primary sources.

Foster Creativity

The idea that technology can foster creativity is essential to the usage of technology.

Students often want to explore and go beyond the content that is presented in schools. Students
might be able to understand certain concepts but may not have the necessary resources to

showcase their understanding, this is where technology comes into play. Technology helps foster

creativity by giving students tools guidance and instructions, according to Levey and Duff. There

are easier ways for students to be able to demonstrate what they are learning such as drawing a

picture, coming up with a word collage or being able to simply describe and display their

learning in more creative ways. Websites, such as Prezi, allow students to be able to

demonstrate what they have learned without having to write extensive papers on what they have

learned.

Foster Communication & Collaboration

The usage of technology is so important but when it is paired with the internet it becomes

a very powerful and effective tool for students to be able to foster their communication and

collaboration skills. Technology can serve as a way for students to communicate with people

from around the globe. With this being said, students are going to be given the opportunity to be

communicating with students with different background as well as different sets of beliefs;

educators should be able to help students understand that their will be cultural differences and

ways to be able to still communicate effectively and students should be able to enforce these type

of communication skills online. Digital citizenship also comes into play when introducing

communication and collaboration online. Students should have digital citizenship, so they have

the basic understanding of the online world, treat other the way you would like to be treated is an

easy way to think about it. Educators should provide that base line and allow students to prove

their proficiency on the web, while still being able to take caution on what’s going on online.

Technology helps foster the communication and collaboration aspect by allowing students to see
that there is more than the immediate world around them, this helps them prepare for a more

realistic and diverse future.

Assess Competency

The idea that technology can help asses’ students in a more efficient manner is essential

to why technology is used in the classroom. Often educators take a long-time collecting data and

grading test, this can slow down the classroom pace and leave the students who are not

understanding the concepts in the dark. The immediate feedback that an educator can get while

using technology is essential. In the classroom, we have looked at different tools that can help

educators get that immediate feedback such as, Plickers. The immediate feedback that this app

provides allows teachers to be able to analyze which students are on track and understand what

needs to be explained to the class or to certain individuals.

Technology fosters these necessities that go beyond just a student need, but teachers need

as well. Understanding that technology serves as an assessment tool make it fundamental for

students to be able to see their progress and to give a self-check on what they can do to help their

understanding.

Conclusion:

Overall, technology can help enhance learning for students. But technology should not be

used to substitute the teacher. Teachers play an important role that allow for personal

connections for students. These connections help build trust and help give teacher insight of a

student’s life. Technology fosters all the ideas that, I have mentioned above. But these ideas are

only truly reinforced with the support and help of a teacher to help guide students through these

apps, websites, and other technologies that help foster education.

 Work cited

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. B. (2019). Teaching and learning with technology. Boston:

Pearson.