Concordia University Article: 3 Reasons Why Teachers Need To Use Technology in the Classroom

After stumbling across this article on the internet, I thought it would be the perfect article to analyze and summarize as a blog post. This article starts by discussing the new and persistent challenges the pandemic brought upon teachers and their ability to teach. While it was quite the daunting task, 87% of teachers surveyed by the Edweek Research Center reported that their ability to use educational technology in the classroom effectively improved in 2020. 

The article then continues to have the position that teachers should use technology in the classroom and provides 3 reasons as to why it is beneficial. 

The first reason stated is that technology in the classroom provides teachers with more tools to support students. As all teachers know, each and every student has a unique way of learning. Using technology provides an additional amount of methods and tools to use while teaching students. This is because technology accommodates a variety of learning methods and can be used in many ways including online videos, audiobooks and interactive online games just to name a few. These resources are also adaptable as they allow each individual to utilize these resources at their own pace. On top of this, technological tools are constantly being updated and invented so the options are endless. This point in the article was also backed up by some statistics found by McKinsey and Company including reports that found that students who achieved the highest outcomes for reading and science spent more than 60 minutes per week using technology in the classroom. Studies also showed that students performed better in reading when both teachers and students used devices in the classroom. 

The second reason mentioned in the article was that students become active participants in the learning process by using technology in the classroom. When technology is not used, students tend to be passive participants however when technology is used, a bigger opportunity for student engagement presents itself. Educational tech provides incentive for students to become active learners, especially when learning is done through online educational games or immersive virtual reality. This argument was also backed up by a statistic claiming that challenged based gamification can improve students performance by up to 89%. Among the many options that can be used to bring technology into the classroom, some more frequent resources include interactive online games, virtual games where students put knowledge to action, Smart boards, access to computers for online research, online video series and presentation tools. While these resources aid in encouraging student learning, many of them can also be found for free use as well. 

The third and final reason mentioned in this article was that teachers who become experts at using technology in the classroom can advance their careers. While the standard skills and knowledge are required to be a teacher, more institutions actively look for teachers who have experience using technology in a classroom setting. New job opportunities are constantly emerging within the educational technology field which is yet another reason why teachers should use technology in their classrooms. 

Overall, this article had some very compelling points with proof to back up the presented arguments. It was a very enjoyable and light read and I would definitely recommend it to my peers. 

>https://www.concordia.edu/blog/3-reasons-why-teachers-need-technology-in-the-classroom.html

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