Advantages of Integrating Technology into Math and Science
Like all content areas, integrating technology into math and science has many benefits. One major benefit is that it exposes students to technology. It is important for students to get experience with all types of technology because they will need those skills for the rest of their lives. Another advantage is increasing student engagement. By using technology in lessons, students are more likely to be engaged and on task. Teachers also benefit from technology, because there are many resources available to help teachers make lessons more fun and interactive.
This link takes you to EducationWorld's article "Integrating Technology into Science."
Disadvantages of Integrating Technology into Math and Science
Though there are many advantages to integrating technology into math and science, there are also some drawbacks. One of the major issues is monitoring student activity. It is difficult for a teacher to monitor all of the students' computers while she is teaching, so many students will try to play games or be on other websites during instructional time. Students must also be able to determine the credibility of websites for some types of technology integration. There are many sites on the internet that look credible, but may have extreme bias or just inaccurate information. A third disadvantage would be student access to technology. Depending on the type of school you are in, students may or may not have access to technology. If there are students who do not have a personal form of technology, this limits what teachers can do because it wouldn't be fair to give a student an assignment that they can't complete at home.
This is a link that goes to a video about the benefits and drawbacks of integrating technology in the classroom. It does a really great job of covering most of the common pros and cons associated with technology in the classroom.
Specific activities, programs, etc.
Chapter 11 contained a lot of references to really great activities and resources. One of the major resources that would be great for classroom use is virtual manipulatives. Much like physical manipulatives, students are able to see a visual representation of difficult, abstract concepts. Using virtual manipulatives ensures that all students have enough materials, and it allows for more freedom. Another piece of technology that is good for math integration is graphing calculators. These calculators create accurate graphs for students to see based on equations put into the calculator. This is good for when students are learning to graph because it is often times difficult to get the graph exact. One science program the book discussed was the GLOBE program. I thought it was interesting that it was listed in the book, but there are many ways to incorporate technology into GLOBE. However, the GLOBE program is great for science in general because it spans over so many different content areas.
Shelby, you are right on target with the advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the classroom. It is the teachers job to keep the students engaged, which eliminates a majority of the problems involved with using technology. I do think a disadvantage is inability to access some websites due to school computer restrictions. Teachers should choose websites they know won't be a problem getting to from the schools websites for projects or assignments.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that students need to be exposed to technology because it will prepare them for their futures. I definitely understand the disadvantages you wrote about. It is definitely hard for a teacher to monitor what students are doing on various devices. The teacher needs to have some kind of system to monitor student activity.
ReplyDeleteI agree that technology can make math and science instruction more interesting and engaging because of its interactive nature. However, it can prove to be difficult to monitor students activity on a regular basis. And I love the use of virtual manipulatives to help students learn abstract math concepts. They are a great tool to help students learn when they might not have physical access to those resources in the classroom.
ReplyDelete