Effective Integration of Technology and High School Classroom Teaching

Technology provides instant access to information, which is why its presence in the classroom is so important. Smartphones, computers and tablets have become ubiquitous elements in the daily lives of students and teachers. It is natural to explore the use of technological devices in the classroom to create meaningful learning experiences for students of all ages.
Using different types of technologies in the classroom, including virtual classrooms, can train learners who are actively involved in learning goals. The implementation of technology also creates a way for differentiated teaching to meet the unique needs of students as individual learners in a broader classroom atmosphere.

By Qianting Lu

Do you think your children use their mobile phones or tablet devices to play games, chat, and already play social media? In fact, children learn more through the media.

Researchers in other disciplines, such as health sciences, communications, social work and psychology, also have investigated how teenagers use and are affected by social media. Although this research typically is not situated in schools, a cursory examination shows how fluidly and holistically social media has embedded itself in contemporary life. To fully understand the complexity of social media use requires consideration of mediating and moderating factors, such as social capital and social influence, which in turn shape individual user behaviors. 

User behaviors are manifest not only on social media platforms, but across everyday life. Teenagers and young adults make decisions about their daily life activities based at least in part on interactions that have occurred in their social media networks. For this reason, it is impractical for educators and educational researchers to look narrowly at research on social media situated in the school context and focused on learning support and outcomes. Social media’s wide reach throughout all aspects of life make it difficult, if not impossible, to compartmentalize it.

The behavior of so many children using electronic devices has an impact on the children themselves, their surrounding friends, mentality, health, parent-child relationship, and so on.  However, to help the children name rectification: In the middle school stage, many schools have introduced technology to promote teaching. Here is an example of learning mathematics. Children learning mathematics on the ipad is more interesting than just reading textbooks. The rich examples and game breakthrough settings stimulate The children’s interest in mathematics learning and mathematics thinking. In addition, the introduction of scientific and technological resources also makes the classroom format no longer single, enriching children's learning.

Learning mathematics can be a struggle for some students and the methods that educators use in the classroom can make a huge impact on the level of understanding for the student. Educators recognize the need for different methods, strategies, curricula, and professional training that may be necessary to help meet the need in the pedagogy of students in mathematics. 

The study included 110 students along with two teachers that were broken up into two groups. One of these groups consisted of 57 students that used the iPad in the geometry classroom whereas the other 53 students were in the non-iPad group. The iPad was used as the technology integration tool because of its portability, internet access, and because it is a user-friendly device. Both groups in the study were taught the same material but the presentation of the material along with student interaction with or without the iPad was the distinction between the groups. The premise behind the use of the iPad group was to engage the student with the belief that student engagement will bring a greater understanding of the material. Data was collected through teacher observation, student self-reporting, and student surveys. In response to the first question of student engagement, the iPad group confirmed the hypothesis since it was observed with a higher rate of student engagement when compared to the non-iPad group. This result could be because using technology such as an iPad in the classroom could enhance the attention of students simply because of the viewing of simultaneous information directly to the student.

 Students need to be engaged in the learning of mathematics, and it is a necessity that educators use methods in the classroom that will help in the process of student engagement to help motivate the students to get a deeper understanding of mathematics. The positive effect of using technology throughout the curriculum can assist student learning mathematics to higher-order thinking that can help students even beyond the classroom. To this extent, the use of technology within the curriculum from elementary to high school is necessary for the betterment of learning mathematics. Finally, it is expectant that educators will continue to use technology in new ways in the classroom to help students be prepared for today’s ever-changing technology driven society. 

If children use technology to enhance learning but are mistaken for secretly playing games or using social media to neglect learning, then the parents and children relationship will be more difficult, and the child will feel that they don’t understand. We hope that parents can learn more about the purpose of children's use of technology, instead of blindly blocking it.

Reference

Murphy, D. (2016). A literature review: The effect of implementing technology in a high school mathematics classroom. International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), 2(2), 295-299.

        Drexel University School of Education. HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM: BENEFITS & EFFECTS. https://drexel.edu/soe/resources/student-teaching/advice/how-to-use-technology-in-the classroom/#:~:text=Technology%20in%20High%20School%20Classrooms%20Once%20students%20reach,they%20can%20receive%20fluid%20feedback%20on%20their%20work.