Restructuring Our Schools for Educational Technology

Summary:
Technology is everywhere. However, due to school budgets, students outnumber computers 20, 30, and 40 to 1. Even when some of the schools do have the computers available for students, the old models of the computers don’t have the capacity to support new educational software. Now, software available allow for twenty first century electronic learning. Now calculators, camcorders, audio books, databases, simulations, drill-and-practice exercises, video cassette recorders, the Discovery channel, music synthesizers and the wide array of computing devices are a few examples that are made readily available. These types of programs need to replace some of the regular classroom lecture time that we are used to.

My Thoughts:
I do agree that computer programs these days provide an interactive way for students to learn. Graphics can entice students and encourage learning. It also allows students that need help mastering one area to keep working on that particular level where as students who are advancing, don’t need to be held back by the teacher and the rest of the class. Furthermore, it allows students to become more familiar with working on computers and have positive experiences playing educational games. Funding needs to be in place to allow this to happen.

Reference:
Mecklenburger, J. (1991, January). Restructuring Our Schools for Educational Technology. Education Digest, 56(5), 52-55. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.