Technology and Student Learning

Technology and Student Learning
By:Muir, M. (2007)
Muir, M is assosicate prosessor of middle and seconary education at the university of Maine ar Farmington and director of maine center of meaningful engaed learning.
We all agree that technology has great positive effects on learning. I read one of the articles titled: “Technology and student learning” Muir, M. (2007), in which the writer states many facts about technology in learning. I summarize, make my reflection and evaluate them as follows;
Technology connects the school and the students to the world. That is true as we see today you can send discussion, chat, talk with your relatives in the other countries and continents through the web cam or other technology tools and you are at home, technology makes the world like a small village in front of you.
I understand from his article that technology strengthens teaching through the variety tools used in teaching. In DLI when we have cultural presentations or speaking presentations or Area studies presentations student feel enjoyment and fun and get more interactive as these presentations are done by the students themselves using technology tools like smart board or power point...etc.
He also made a hypothesis which I made in one of my discussions in that course, he stated that technology has a contribution to the change in schools; imagine there are no tools now, how would schooling be? If you could imagine schools without technology in the age of inventiveness, tell me how it would be. It would be a place in which you can not learn and schools would take you back to the old ages with no advance and the outside world would be more progressive than schools, that is my ultimate belief. Bracewell, Breuleux, Laferriere, Beniot, and Abdous (1998) confirmed that the integration of educational technology into the classroom leads to increased student interest and motivation in learning, more student-centered classroom environments, and increased real-life or authentic learning opportunities. Davis (1997) agreed that technology integration led to student-centered classrooms, which increased student self-esteem. No doubt all these benefits, we as instructors and me especially who work with students since 1984 and lived teaching without technology for eleven years and then started windows 1995 in 1996, since then technology in progress. From the two decades I taught with and without technology I observe the big differences and chance provided for each student, it is breakthroughs.
One of the most points Coughlin focued on is that technology helps relate academics to the practices of today's workforce. Technology in schooling, as I see , is not only restricted to using inside the school building only, but it extends beyond that after school to help students apply the academic study in real life situation and especially when they look for a job, I also can add that one of the positive effects of technology is that it deepens the basic skills like with the DLI students the materials are available with them after school for review and study and that make language skills are better.
I agree with the writers’ findings paraphrased above, despite in the same research summary there are some concerns on using technology as technology sometimes focuses on hardware and software, or teachers taught about the technology instead of using the technology to enhance learning experiences. In my opinion, I can say that Technology has the power to improve teaching and learning, but it depends greatly on teachers' purposes in using the technology, why he uses that tool, for which subject and how he\she uses these tools. I like the comment of Tapscott, 1998, p.135 when he said “ (Tapscott, 1998, p. 135) People who recommend more computers for the schools are like doctors who prescribe more medicine. What medicine? How much medicine? For what reason? The same questions apply to computers.
In general it is one of the valuable articles built on facts and practical evidances from supporters in the same field as he addresses the teachers sector.

Resources:

Muir, M. (2007). Research summary: Technology and learning. Retrieved [date] from http://www.nmsa.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/TechnologyandStudentLearning/
tabid/275/Default.aspx

Becker,H.(2000).findings from the teaching.learning and computing survey.education policy analysis archives8(51)retrieved June2,2006,from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n51