Texas Long Range Plan for Technology - Educator Preparation and Development

This article discusses the need for educators to step up to the plate as far as establishing the use of technology in the classroom. Due to the fact that times have changed from educators using traditional learning models to 21st Century learning models. The goal of creating this type of learning environment is to prepare students to be successful after they leave the classroom as adults entering the job market. Teachers must rise to meet the challenges of learning and using technology in their classrooms as a tool to teach students in all subject areas. This could be a difficult feat especially for veteran teachers who came through the educational system when technology was not heard of as being used in the classroom setting. The article states that when using technology students must constantly be assessed to monitor the effectiveness of the use of technology. The article refers to the 21st Century learner as a "digital student".

I agree totally with this article. Teachers both veteran and new to education should be prepared to teach and integrate technology into their classroom instruction. The use of technology will definitely require educators to attend many professional development training sessions to keep up with best teaching practices in regards to integrating technology in the classroom. I see this also as a weeding process for educators who are unwilling to conform to the mandatory integration of technology as an important learning tool for successful instruction.

Educational Games

Educational games are designed and created to teach or enhance skills on subjects, concepts and reinforce knowledge. Basically, they add excitement and entertainment to learning. Often, students forget that are actually involved in a learning process because of the intense excitement some educational games offer.

I have used educational games with my students with great success. Some educational game software that I am familiar with are: Searchasaurus (the districts PreK-12 Online database for all subject areas), Oregon Trail, Reader Rabbit and The Magic School Bus.

Most educational games are designed to prompt students to recall specific learning objectives. Students can definitely benefit from educational games, because the trend in our society leans heavily toward technology; not only in our schools but in the workplace and at home.

In the past, video games have been viewed as mindless ways to waste time similiar to the number of hours that children watch television is perceived. The key to the amount of value educational games have is based on the content of the information. The million dollar question is, what is the educational value of the resource? Game developers have the tough job of balancing the entertainment component with the educational component. I believe video games do have the potential to aid in the development of the learning environment by allowing students to interact and manipulate objects and variables.

Drill and Practice Software

Are drill and practice strategies dead? Absolutely not. Drill and practice software is an excellent tool used for reinforcing skills. Drill and practice promotes the acquisition of knowledge of skills through repetitive practice. Drill and practice allows learners to master competencies at their own pace without the added pressure of being forced to move on to another strategy when they are not ready. It also allows the teacher to move other students forward who have mastered particular strategies, without the hesitency of feeling like everyone in the class should stay together and always be working on the same skills or competencies.

As a classroom math and science teacher the use of drill and practice strategies has proven to be one of my most successful strategies especially with my students in math. From talking to my peers on their feelings about drill and practice they agree that drill and practice is a refreshing change from the "old paper based reinforcement of skills mastery to a student friendly and interesting computer based way to reinforce skill mastery.

Most classroom have at least 23 students in them. We (teachers) have limited or little time to devote to individualized teaching; at best we group our students. Drill and practice allows students to practice skills and provides teachers and students with instant assessments and feedback of their work and it allows the teacher ample time to work with both groups of students. Drill and practice software is also beneficial in that it can provide extensions to both groups of students the gifted student looking to master new skills or work ahead on a competencies or the struggler that is bascially attempting to master skills already taught.