How Computers Are Used in Schools

¶ … technology in the world growing at an exponential rate, computers have broken through the educational system and have started to become part of the set educational curriculum. Now it no longer depends on which school one goes to, more likely than not, one is bound to encounter a computer. Computers have become so prevalent in school environments that even children as young as 5 and 6 years olds are being exposed to technology and being taught how to use the computer (Bielefeldt, 341). The bottom line is that computers are revolutionizing the way every individual learns.

Computers are being used in schools as teaching methods. An example of a teaching method now being used, are power point presentations. What used to be written on black boards with chalk, evolved into writing on white boards with dry erase markers, but have now completely transformed into digitizing everything into power point presentations. By putting everything in a computer and projecting these images and information on a white wall, students are now able to see exactly every material that the instructor is teaching. From pictures of graphs, animals, locations, to actual images straight from a textbook, students are able to get as much information as they can from a single classroom experience. Enhancing this already revolutionary method are access to videos straight from the Internet and into the classroom. Streaming this audiovisual equipment through the means of computers literally takes the student wherever they need to go for that classroom session (Wenglinsky, 30).

Computers in the classroom have also changed the way that research is done for school projects. They are used as all-inclusive researching tools. No longer are libraries or reference centers used. Nowadays, all one needs is access to a computer to do literally everything for any type of project assigned. Any article can be found through online databases and with a computer, even notes can be taken (Fairlie, 22). What used to be written as side notes in an actual paper notebook, can be typed into a computer's notebook and have everyone have equal access to proper citing materials.

Going along with taking notes on the actual computers, now educators do not even want any type of written assignment handed in to them. Everything has to be typed. This has increased legibility of actual assignments, and also puts everyone at the same level when it comes to expression. Individuals who were previously unable to express themselves can now hit a button on a computer and come up with various but different ways to say the same thing. Equalizing writing is a result of computers in the classroom (Wenglingsky, 31). Having everything typed will also minimize the work necessitated by teachers who now no longer have to spend time trying to read what a student has written. The time spent on trying to figure out the legibility of a student's paper can now be spent on providing a more educational experience.

We have not entered a technological era where paper is now an optional entity. Textbooks that were once used as everyday means of obtaining information in classrooms are now beginning to be replaced by computers. You can now access a book online just as easily as you could buy one online as well. Bookstores no longer need to have a physical location to provide materials for a classroom. Classroom book fairs can now be Virtual and so can the books purchased from that virtual bookstore (Wenglinsky, 30). What once used to be a hazardous physical health concern with books can now be eased by the convenience of having computers in the classroom. Children and adults no longer have to carry four to five books weighing five pounds each in their backpacks. Extra textbooks no longer need to be stored in a storage place at the school, again, this can all be stored online. Having access to literally any textbook ever made, will give the teachers and the students the convenience of having all this information accessible just by having computers in the classroom.

Another technological advance brought on by the usage of computers in the classroom is the reduction of physical space needed for files and records. Everything can now be stored into a computer system and accessed whenever necessary (Bielefeldt, 344). There is no need for an extra storage room in a school to house all the boxes of papers with current student and previous student information. Those classrooms can now actually be used for more classroom space or for a better cause. Computers in the classroom give access to convenience to not only just the students, but to the administrative staff of a school as well. All this organization will bring more efficiency and greater professional development to staff and to the teachers who now have one less thing to worry about and can actually focus on helping students out more.

Computers are being used as classroom themselves. Individuals no longer have to go to an actual brick and mortar school to get the education that they need (Fairlie, 25). High school degrees, Bachelor's degrees, any degree of higher education, can now be obtained online. From videos streaming actual classroom settings and lectures, to just a video of the professor themselves teaching one on one in pre-recorded video format, a student can have access when ever they want to, to material that is usually repeated just once. They are literally bringing the classroom into their homes (Bielefeldt, 345). Even meetings among classmates can be arranged through a computer. A classmate in Australia could just as easily talk to a student in South America as they can to a student in East Berlin. A computer as a classroom is a remarkable thing that brings educational equality among those who might not have experienced any sort of teaching.