Does technology exist in the classroom?

It is always assumed the resources that teachers use in the classroom are the most technologically advanced, but this is not the case. Many teachers and schools across the country still rely on ‘fail safe’ resources and do not embrace technology in a way that could enhance the learning of the students and the effectiveness of the teaching in the classroom.

I have seen and heard many teachers discuss the use of their ‘smartboard’ and the comments of praise they have received during a lesson observation for using this. Sure, almost every classroom in the UK has an interactive whiteboard, but there is so much more to technology than this.

As you may know class sizes are ever-expanding and a class is typically stretched to the capacity by the local authority. Technology and different ways of using it in the classroom can transform the way that teachers teach and the time they have to spend with each of their students.

There is a lot of stigma around the use of technology in school. Many people say that tablets used in the classroom distract from the ‘real learning’, but a tablet used in the correct way with the correct software can transform a student’s learning. I am not saying that I want to put all of my 25 students on a tablet for the whole of the school day, the change that I want to see in my classroom and classrooms across the country is the way in which teachers think about technology and the benefits it can have.

For students:

Create a more individual approach to learning

Inspire creativity

Improve gross motor skills

Encourage team work.

For teachers:

Increase classroom management

Change the visual quality of teaching materials

Create unique effective teaching methods

In world where technology is ever advancing other countries are putting more emphasis on using technology and coding in the classroom why aren’t we?