Technology is Here To Stay; This is Why

The thought of schools going back to strictly pencil and paper is scary. Our society has
evolved and has become very dependent on technology; removing all technology from schools
will be a disservice to all students. Although there could be downfalls with technology the
positive outcomes outweigh the bad. Technology, as it stands now, encourages students to be
curious, fosters collaboration, and has fun opportunities to learn and practice.
With the help of technology educational content has become more engaging to students.
This causes students to present more “inquisitiveness” and boosts their curiosity (American
University 2020). Overall this “untraditional” medium encourages students to want to know
more. Curiosity is what drives learning and increases engagement with endless technology.
Students do not have to sit through boring lectures every day instead they can sit through fun and
alternate lecture forms. This alone makes learning more intriguing so it is unimaginable to the
extent other programs can provide both teachers and students. Taking all of this away from our
students will lower participation and learning in all classes.
Technology has also made communication and collaboration a lot more efficient.
There are countless programs and resources specifically designed for communication or
collaboration. Simple ones like Google Docs or even programs like Zoom. In these easy-to-
navigate programs, students have the option to “work together to solve problems” (American
University 2020). Students and teachers can engage with one another to seek help, gain
feedback, or simply turn in assignments. This has made classroom tasks a lot more efficient in
comparison to long drawn-out group work and waiting on each student to do their part. After all,
as educators, our best interest is always the students and their learning. Their best interest is
technology.
Technology has created diverse learning opportunities. During the COVID 19
pandemic, everyone was forced to turn to technology. As a result students and teachers had the
chance to explore new grounds that fostered change in the educational world. Students now have
the option to access educational resources. Classes can be web-based and/or hybrid which
means students have the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Students can look over classroom
material to “get a better understanding of essential concepts” (American University 2020).
Through technology, students are set up to thrive in all subjects. New and beneficial discoveries
were made when the nation went into lockdown and taking them away would cause the United
States education system to take a huge step backward.
Overall, technology has become an essential tool for both educators and students
across the nation. With the increase of resources, education has become limitless and
personalized to students’ needs. If the decision takes away all technology students will be left
behind and be forced to readapt to a mode of teaching that has been left behind years ago. We are
in a technological age and students need to be involved and accustomed to its heavy presence.
Technology has been and will continue to be the superior tool in education.

How important is technology in Education? benefits, challenges, and impact on students. How
Important Is Technology in Education? | American University. (n.d.). Retrieved July 23,
2022, from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/technology-in-education

 Identification of Standards
The Nevada Computer and Technology Standards and the ISTE Standards definitely
have similarities and differences. The major difference being one is state specific while the other
is nation specific. Although there is a huge difference the categories found within each one are
quite similar. Both of these standards are essential to student and their education provided
through technology.
The Nevada Computer and Technology Standards is divided into the following
categories: creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and
information fluency, critical thinking problem solving and decision making, digital citizenship ,
and technology operations and concepts. These six categories than dive deep into more specific
standards. These Nevada standards dive into each grade level these standards in a sense track the
progress of students by setting expected standards as they make their way through their
educational career. These standards are specified and age appropriate where as the ISTE
standards can be applied to all grades and class work can be modified to meet each standard.
Also Nevada standards are very specific as to what the student must do like “use proper
keyboard technique” where as ISTE does not specify such mechanics.
The ISTE Standard are divided into the follow standards: empowered learner, digital
citizen, knowledge constructer, innovative designer, computational thinker, creative
communicator, and global collaborator. These seven categories are used for students across the
nation. Right from the start one of the many differences we can see is the number of standards.
Aside from that one of they differences when compared to Nevada standards is “global”
collaborator. ISTE aims for students to focus on the bigger picture. The global collaborator
standard just does that by requiring students to focus on global diversity, collaborating with
students of different ethnicities, and even working together to focus on global emergent problems
and finding a solution. ISTE encourages student to thrive and work past broad standards.
As we have already identified the major differences they also have similarities. To
begin, both include being a digital citizen. Students both according to Nevada and nation
technology standards are expected to behave and act legally and ethically. They have a
responsibility to uphold when using any type of technology. In addition, communication is also a
key component to both standards. Communication is essential and simple when it comes to
technology. Students are expected to work together towards a common or individual goal
whether it is at a distance or in a cohesive group.
With multiple standards to choose from to help teach student the limit is endless.
Considering that I am going to be a secondary education math teacher these two standards can
easily help my create a lesson to help my student thrive in math while keeping them
technologically up to date as well. Nevada standard 1.A.12.1 and ISTE standard 1.4a will be met
with the lesson created in the next section. Students with their math knowledge and the help of
technology will be able to produce their artifact that will work as a study tool and provide
resources to them when ever needed.

 Lesson Plan

Name: One Stop Launch Formulas

Grade Level: Algebra 1 - 9th Grade

Standards:
• Apply new and existing knowledge to independently, or in collaboration with others, generate
new ideas, products, or processes with digital tools.
• Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories,
creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
• Interpret parts of an expression, such as terms, factors, and coefficients.

Objective:
• Student will be able to use multiple software programs (i.e. PowerPoint, Canva, and Drawing
Tools, etc.) to create a launchpad to help them remember how and to create expressions.
• Students will be able to understand the parts of an expression.
• Students will be able to identify and remember the parts of an expression using their
launchpad.
• Students will be able to create their own expression.

Materials:
• Computer or tablet
• Notes/Textbook
• Creative software (i.e. PowerPoint, Canva, and Drawing Tools, etc.)

Suggested Group Size:

• Individual or in pairs.

Procedure:
• Open up a blank page in their desired medium.
• Add elements/pictures related to expressions onto the blank page that will help them remember
what each part is (i.e. letters, symbols, and numbers).
• Add color other creative elements (i.e. theme) to make the launch pad more appealing.
• Add title “expressions” and example problem of an expression.
• Attach links directly to reference video on how to create and solve expressions.

Assessment:
• Student will be graded on the accuracy and creativeness of their launch pad. Students will also
be assigned homework on expression due next class. This will show how student have grown
to understand expressions through this assignment.

Student Example