Write-Up for Prezi Presentation

Instructions: Each paragraph goes with the appropriately numbered slide.

1. We are going to be looking at how technology can effectively and meaningfully be
integrated into the classroom.
2. Due to the rapid changes and exponential growth that has occurred regarding
technology in the past 50 years, the curriculum, students, and teachers are forced to
adapt their resources and ideas as well. While young 21st century learners are
increasingly connected to shallower forms of technology like social media, our society,
identities, and potential careers are developing out of new technologies. The attributes
shown here are increasingly used to describe our lifestyles, curriculum, students, and
teachers.
3. Because technology is taking a larger role in society and humans lives, educators are
using technology more and more in the classroom when they deem it appropriate. It can
be seen that technology can actually aid and improve the achievement of crosscurricular competencies of students. By using technology in the classroom, students
gain valuable life skills. Here we are going to look specifically at two cross-curricular
competencies.
4. The ability to manage information is crucial for the 21st century learner. By using
technology to aid in achieving educational outcomes, students learning is also enriched.
Because of the nature of the internet and its search engines, it becomes essential for
students using it to learn how to be discerning regarding whether information is factual or
not. For example, students must learn that Wikipedia is not nearly as reliable a source
as a scholarly article. By learning realities such as this about technology, students can
become adept in the cross-curricular competency of the ability to manage information.
5. The second cross-curricular competency we will look at is how students demonstrate
good communication skills and the ability to work cooperatively with others. By looking
an example from the article Linking Technology, Learning, and School Change, the
anecdote of the teacher William who gradually integrates more technology in his
classroom, we can see a clear example of his students becoming confident in this crosscurricular competency. His students learned how to work with students in other schools
across the internet and communicate their scientific findings. Because technology was
the major facilitator between these students, it clearly has an important use in the
classroom.
6. Along with the increase in technology in the classroom, teachers have also noticed both
positive and negative effects on students.
7. Positive impacts of technology in the classroom are the development of technological
skills, the ability to form connections with other students, being able to access a wide
range of information, and more enriched learning. Using technology in the classroom
allows students to develop the technological skills they will need once they have left
school and begun their careers. By using technology in the classroom, teachers are able
to connect their students with other children all over the world, and they are able to
share ideas and learn about other cultures and places. The use of technology provides
access to a wide range of information that students would not be able to access without
technology, which also leads to more enriched learning for all students. Sharing
information with students in other schools allows students to develop the cross-curricular
competency of demonstrating good communication skills, and using technology to enrich
learning gives students the ability to demonstrate the cross-curricular competency of
managing information.

8. Some of the negative impacts of technology noted by Alberta teachers are difficulty
focusing, an increased number of students with mental health issues, difficulty
communicating in-person with others, and an increase in cyberbullying and online
harassment. When surveyed, a majority of teachers agreed that their students came to
school unprepared to learn, and many had difficulty focusing. The teachers commonly
attributed this issue to the increase of technology both in and outside the classroom. The
teachers also reported that the number of students diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) had increased with
the increased use of technology. They also noticed an increase in other disorders such
as anxiety and depression. Another issue noticed by teachers in this survey is that
students had difficulty communicating in person with others. About 35% of teachers
believe that students faced social challenges, and believed the cause of this to be
increased communication through tools such as social media. Over half of teachers
surveyed reported an increase over the past 3-5 years of students reporting instances of
cyberbullying and online harassment.
9. While there are negative aspects of the increased use of technology on students, there
are many positive aspects as well.Students must be able to manage information and
communicate effectively with others, and the use of technology in the classroom can
help them achieve this. Todays students are living in a world in which technology is
rapidly evolving, and it is the job of teachers to educate their students on the technology
they will need to become informed, educated people.