Devices in the Classroom

Do you remember using technology similar to those shown in the pictures when you were in school? If so, did you enjoy getting to use it in class? Did it make learning more fun or engaging for you? When it comes to using technological devices in the classroom, that is usually the goal. Personally, I loved using technology in class and activities that involved it became some of my favorite class activities.

The learning targets for this lesson are:

1. Students will be able to identify some practical uses of using technological devices in the classroom.

2. Students will be able to describe the benefits of technological devices being used by students.

3. Students will be able to describe the risks technological devices impose on students.

How Can Technological Devices Be Used in the Classroom?

Using technological devices in class activities is one of many ways they can be used in the classroom. Not only can they help students, but they can also help teachers. Shirley and Irving (2015)’s article shows that a system of technology, called “connected classroom technologies” or CCT, provided an opportunity for teachers to use technology to assist with assessing their students’ learning in formative assessments. Their study concluded that using CCT positively affected the four teachers that participated in the study and how they were able to give and use formative assessments (Shirley & Irving, 2015). Technological devices can also be used to work with students with special needs. In the research done by Correia and Halabi (2021), it was concluded that tablets, such as iPads, can be used by students with autism in the classroom to improve their motivation and social skills. In their conducted study, they found that the five students with autism responded better to using their tablets to complete math activities when compared to completing the activities on paper (Correia & Halabi, 2021). These studies show some of the many examples where technological devices have been and could be used in the classroom.

What are the benefits of using technological devices in the classroom?

As we all know, students tend to get bored and burned out after reading and writing for too long. Technological devices are a way to switch things up and let students experience something new. Fuad et. al. (2018) proved that technological devices can change how students work with problems and help students to better understand them. In their study, they used “Mobile Response System (MRS) software” to allow students to virtually manipulate problems in order to solve them, and when compared to students that did not use the software, students that did received higher grades (Fuad et. al., 2018). Campoy and Harte (2014) discovered that even though technological devices can be used by students for educational purposes, that doesn’t limit their use to inside the classroom. Their article mentions schools that allowed their students to use technological devices outside of the physical classroom so that students can explore the outside world and make learning more appealing and enjoyable (Campoy & Harte, 2014). An article from Walden University (n.d.) also lists benefits of using technology in the classroom, including having students be more interested in learning and allowing them more opportunities to work with their fellow classmates (Walden University, n.d.). There are many ways in which students’ educational experiences can be improved by the use of technological devices.

What are the risks of using technological devices in the classroom?

Even though we have seen that technological devices can and have helped students in the classroom, there are still some concerns about using them. As Mohammed (2019) did mention some positives about using technology, he also listed the negatives that are important to consider when thinking about using technological devices in the classroom. He found that school age children that spend too much time on technological devices are not as active and social as they should be, and as they get older this could affect their mental health and grades negatively (Mohammed, 2019). In an article by Fitzula (2019), she also lists the good and bad of students using technological devices in the classroom. In her article, she stated that technological devices can be a source of distraction and cause students to have problems with paying attention, and that technological devices can give students more ways to cheat in class (Fitzula, 2019). Further risks were brought up in an article by Harvard University (n.d.), such as students often used their devices in class for noneducational purposes which caused them to perform poorly in school and that devices caused distractions for the students using them and the students that sat close to them (Harvard University, n.d.). So although we have seen how technological devices have greatly benefited students, they could also cause harm and negatively affect them.

Conclusion

As stated by Mohammed (2019), using technology in the classroom can allow students from all different backgrounds to expand their learning and become their best selves. This aligns perfectly to how I feel about using technological devices in the classroom. I feel that it is a wonderful opportunity for students to experience real life things in a fun way, just as we got to field trips or do fun experiments. Technology and devices are simply more ways for our students to interact with practical material that can help them realize that learning is meaningful and enthusiastic. They also allow students to be more hands-on with their learning and learn things for themselves, instead of feeling that they always have to be told something or lectured to learn. Fuad et. al. (2018) discuss how allowing students to use technological devices follows Constructivism, or that students need to construct their own learning to make sense of the world. Even though I agree with using technological devices in the classroom and hope to use them someday in my future classroom, looking at both the benefits and risks is important to better understand how best to use and implement technology in the classroom.

Questions:

1. Which of these is a practical use of using technological devices in the classroom?

a. Allowing students to use their cell phones at free will

b. Only letting students use devices for fun class activities

c. Only letting students use devices when they’re on their best behavior

d. Using devices to assess student learning

2. What would be the best way for a teacher to use technological devices to get their students to engage and work with each other?

a. Do a class Kahoot game

b. Give the students devices to work on a group project

c. Have students use iPads to help find answers to questions

d. Let the students go to Cool Math Games

References

Campoy, A., Harte, J. (2014, September 7). ‘Mobile’ schools use technology to break free of the classroom; portable devices, wireless networks let schools push boundaries of where, when, and how students learn. Wall Street Journal. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1560523283/fulltext/43651EB59827416APQ/1?accountid=12967

Correia, A.P., Halabi, A. L., (2021). Tablet devices in the classroom: Their instructional role with children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 50(2), 273-293. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1177/00472395211047930

Fairfax Network - Fairfax County Public Schools. (2019, June 5). Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC ) Devices [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB2Fk0KdUuo

Fitzula, M. (2019). Using mobile devices in the classroom. Stockton. https://stockton.edu/ctld/documents/facres/mobile-devices-in-the-classroom.pdf

Fuad, M., Deb, D., Etim, J., Gloster, C. (2018). Mobile response system: a novel approach to interactive and hands-on activity in the classroom. Educational Technology Research and Development, 66(2), 493-514. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.odu.edu/10.1007/s11423-018-9570-5

Harvard University (n.d.). Devices in the classroom. https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/technology-and-student-distraction

Mohammed, S. (2019, May 8). Is technology good or bad for learning? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2019/05/08/is-technology-good-or-bad-for-learning/

Shirley, M. L., Irving, K. E. (2015). Connected classroom technology facilitates multiple components of formative assessment practice. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24(1), 56-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9520-x

Walden University (n.d.). Top 5 benefits of technology in the classroom. https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/education/resource/top-five- benefits-of-technology-in-the-classroom

Answers to Questions:

1. D

2. B