Foundations and Assessment of Education/Edition 1/Foundations Table of Contents/Chapter 6/6.1.2

I'm not changing how I teach": The Effects of Educational Reform in the Classroom

By

Denise Rembis

Learning Target

Readers should have a better understanding of educational reform and the impact of technology in the classroom on both students and teachers.

Introduction
Why should I change my ways after teaching for twenty five years? Often at times teachers become set in their ways. Let's face it; we all do when it comes to one thing or another. Technology is increasingly becoming a huge part of many classrooms in this day and age. However, some teachers resist computers because they fear that students may know more about their usage than they do. Younger generations are more in tune with advances in technology and more confident in using the advancements in everyday life. Education reform can be defined as a plan to bring change about in the way material is presented to students to improve their knowledge and understanding. In many school systems, technology is a means of implementing such change. Studies have shown that sixty percent of American homes with children ages 8 to 17 have computers and most of these computers are connected to the Internet. (Wartella & Jennings, 2000) Introducing new forms of technology to children has long been debated. Even when television and movies were introduced in the household, children were exposed to different things they were not normally used to seeing. Even today, there are many skeptics who question the importance of implementing technology in the classroom.

Cognitive Development and Learning
Cognitive development is the improvement of the thought and learning process throughout the various stages of growth and development. When children reach certain developmental milestones they gain a better understanding of the messages that are being sent through various outputs. Research on children's learning shows that the extent of interactivity involved in an experience with media may affect the learning process. (Wartella and Jennings, 2000) In today's world, advances have made such a breakthrough that companies even produce computers, cameras, and MP3 players for small children. By introduction at such a small age, children are exposed to the mechanics of electronic devices and are able to better utilize the learning potential these devices have to offer, such as playing interactive games on a computer, taking digital photos or listening to musical songs to learn their ABCs.

From the "3 R's" to the "5 E's"

 * •Reading â "Exposing Knowledge"
 * •Aritmetic â "Employing Information"
 * •Writing â "Expressing Ideas Compellingly"
 * • "Ethics"

In todayâs society, many educators are trying to keep up with the constant changes. Some have even gone as far as to forget about the Reading, Writing and Arithmetic standards and bring them a little bit more up to speed. The Traditional 3 R's can be evolved into the 4E's to define standards for a more information literacy based world. (Armstrong and Warlick, 2004)

Reading has traditionally been taught through through student exposure. Prior to the era of the Internet, being âliterateâ was defined as being able to read and comprehend the text. With the Internet being the most prevalent source of information, reading has now come to be known as âexposing knowledge.â In a world where anything can be published on the Internet, students need to learn to determine which information is fact and which information is fiction. Since the Internet has become the most prevalent source of information in todayâs world, reading is now known as âexposing knowledge. (Armstrong and Warlick, 2004) In order to find the most up to date and relevant information, students must apply all three of these strategies.

Traditionally, numbers were used as a way of measuring one thing or another, but now arithmetic has been changed to âemploying information.â Just about everything is referenced in numbers, whether it is a measurement or actual code. Computers are used to interpret these numbers. âIt becomes just as important to be able to use a computer to process the invisible numbers behind images, audio, and video content as it is to be able to add, subtract, measure, count, and calculate the visible numbers.â (Armstrong and Warlick, 2004) Basic math skills have not been lost or transferred; computers aid in the processing of numbers and media such as digital cameras or MP3 players.

While writing is still a core part of education, it can now be done in other ways besides using just words. In the 4 Eâs, writing is now âexpressing ideas compellingly.â What this means is that students can express themselves using pictures or sounds rather than just a pencil and paper. Students probably find this easier, perhaps motivating in that the formats presented are the ones that they already have considerable experience with.

The last part of the 4 Eâs is âethics.â Due to the fact that anything can be placed in cyberspace by anybody, students need to learn to determine whether the information found on the Internet is acceptable or unacceptable. Also, students need to realize that there is a right and wrong way to utilize the information found. It becomes easy to copy and paste information. Giving credit where credit is due is very important when using the internet as a source of information. Students need to be taught to use information in an ethical manner. Another lesson that needs to be taught is to find out how reliable is the information being used. Double checking sources and accuracy of data is very important. Learning to rely too much on the internet can also be costly; information and websites can change rapidly and sources can become obsolete. Technology can break down and be inaccessible at critical moments (for example, on the night when a paper is due at midnight!). Making sure to back up data and have back up sources is also important when using technology.

Technology and Educational Reform
Technology, just as it does in everyday life, plays a big role in education reform. Learning becomes more hands on and allows for more interaction among students. In changing methods from traditional teaching, students and teachers receive new roles in the classroom. Students might end up helping teachers more than they have in the past with utilizing their computer skills. The use of technology in the classroom also helps more with skills outside of the classroom.

Effects on Students
According to the U.S. Department of Education educational reform has a number of effects on students:


 * â¢	Change in Student and Teacher Roles due to students being more comfortable with technology than the teachers.


 * â¢	Increased Motivation and Self Esteem because they better understand how the material is being presented.


 * â¢	Technical Skills since students are using technology that can be applied outside of the classroom.


 * â¢	Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks because they are not only learning the material presented, but also how to use different means of technology.


 * â¢	More Collaboration with Peers because there may be limited resources so they need to share or simply because they learn that they have more in common.


 * â¢	Increased Use of Outside Resources since they are using instruments they are familiar with outside of the classroom.


 * â¢	Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience

(U.S. Department of Education, 2000)

Effects on Teachers
Technology-supported education reform efforts for teachers led an increase in their involvement in professional activities. (U.S. Department of Education, 2000) Some of these activities were:


 * â¢	Grant writing to request more implementations.


 * â¢	Training in technology use because in order to teach it they must be at least somewhat familiar with it.


 * â¢	Greater access to technology for own use because they are becoming increasingly more comfortable with it.


 * â¢	Collaborations with outside researchers to learn more ways to implement different resources in the classroom.


 * â¢	Increased role in school decision making by deciding what may or may not be appropriate in the classroom.


 * â¢	Collaborations with software developers to develop software that is more in tune to what they are teaching.


 * â¢	Increased Collaboration Among Teachers Within the School by working together to devise new lesson plans that are on the same level.


 * â¢	Increased Interaction with External Collaborators and Resources to learn what has been effective in other classrooms with technology.


 * â¢	Professional Growth due to the fact that they are forced to learn more about such resources.

(U.S. Department of Education, 2000)

Technology in the Classroom
The U.S. Department of Education also noted that technology in the Classroom helps to:


 * â¢	Support thinking processes because it involves more than just learning the material, but also how to use the technology.


 * â¢	Stimulate motivation and self esteem because students use these resources outside of the classroom and are more confident in using them.


 * â¢	Promote equity since teachers are impartial.


 * â¢	Prepare students for the future because they are using resources that will be used later in life.


 * â¢	Support changes in school structure by allowing more means of learning to be implemented.


 * â¢	Explore technology capabilities by learning how things that are used outside of the classroom can be used in the classroom.

(U.S. Department of Education, 2000)

Multiple Choice Questions
1.	Which of the following is an effect of Technology on Students?


 * a.	Increased Self Esteem


 * b.	Improved Technical Skills


 * c.	More Collaboration with Peers


 * d.	ALL OF THE ABOVE

2.	Which of the following is an effect of Technology on Teachers?


 * a.	Increased Collaboration Among Teachers Within the School


 * b.	Increased Interaction with External Collaborators and Resources


 * c.	Professional Growth


 * d.	ALL OF THE ABOVE

3.	What positive effect does supporting Technology in the classroom have?


 * a.	Supports thinking process


 * b.	Explores technology capabilities


 * c.	Prepares students for the future


 * d.	ALL OF THE ABOVE

4.	What percent of American homes with children ages 8 to 17 have computers?


 * a.	10%


 * b.	100%


 * c.	50%


 * d.	60%

Answers to the Questions

1.	D

2.	D

3.	D

4.	D