up front | technology
Teacher Shelby Horne uses technology to complement her lessons at Orchard View Elementary in Grand Rapids, Mich.
have learned, whether that’s a movie or a website they have published, an interactive e-book or a student portfolio.” In Texas’ Plano Independent School District, all students carry Chromebooks. Digital learning specialist Clara Alaniz encourages kids to express themselves using the video discussion platform Flipgrid. of classroom work is done By recording their answers to with paper and pencil questions, “Students can have SOURCE: NAZARENE UNIVERSITY ample time to think about their responses. They can delete their INSPIRING MINDS responses if they want to record again. That isn’t Today’s teachers don’t just use technology something you can do in a traditional classroom as a means to distribute information to kids. setting,” Alaniz says. “I am the parent of a child Increasingly, they are turning to digital devices as a who will never raise his hand in class, but if he can means for sparking creativity in the classroom. record and listen to himself before he submits his “We are seeing more conversation about the work, he will absolutely do that.” balance between content consumption and content As they leverage technology to expand students’ creation,” says Monica Burns, an educational learning, teachers also are making use of digital consultant and founder of Class Tech Tips. “It’s tools to make their own classroom time more about kids making something that shows what they effective. >
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42%
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say in-school computers are helpful to their child’s education, according to Microsoft’s research. In this pro-digital climate, technology has gained a firm foothold in elementary education. Today, less than half of classroom work — 42 percent — is done using paper and pencil, according to Nazarene University, which found that some 73 percent of teachers use tablets or laptops daily and 86 percent have Wi-Fi in their classrooms.