There are so many technologies being tied into schools these days. A contemporary classroom is one that is shifting from the past and into the 21st century, following the trends of the nation, and integrating technology into their classrooms. They are taking it one step further than using a computer to do word processing, although a valuable skill. They are the schools using the Internet, interactive websites, or blogging with the students we used to deem “pen pals” and send letters to. Rubenstein (2010) says that with the high-end technology of webcams and video conferences, students can interact on a level most people didn’t think possible. In an English class in Illinois, the teacher analyzes a book by having the students post in character on their blogs (Walker, 2009). Walker (2009) points out that today’s students don’t just use the internet and different technological sources for entertainment and Facebook, but it is also most likely where they will connect and communicate with their Universities and future employers. Using the skills they already have and developing them is giving students more of an edge in a very competitive economy.
Other teachers use things like interactive white boards to engage students further, Ipods and ITouches to improve reading skills and fluency, or as one teacher in Montclair, NJ, is using Ipods to download original slave statements to take student involvement one step further. At one school in New Jersey, she created a classroom, labeled the 21st Century Classroom, to allow students to work in a completely different way to gain new information. They do everything via technology be it IPods, Google maps, interactive web activities, interactive boards, or digital stories (Morra, 2011).
These types of classrooms aren’t only making a difference within their school walls by engaging and preparing students, but they are making extension into the community and into student’s homes even more of a possibility than in the past. Technology like voice thread and IMovie can be used to create projects that can be broadcasted to the community, showing what schools are actually doing and what the students are succeeding in. Technology can build a link, or a bridge, to its own education system.
Morra, Samantha. (2011). “21st Century Classroom.” SamanthaMorra.com. Retrieved from http://www.samanthamorra.com/samanthamorra/21st_Century_Classroom.html
Rubenstein, Grace. (2009). “Technology Integration for Elementary Schools: High tech teaching tips for little tykes.” Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-technology-integration.
Walker, Tim. (October 2009). “Turning the Page: Students live in a Digital World. Are schools ready to joint them.” NEA Today Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/35939.htm
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