Technology integration in second grade mathematics instruction and student achievement

¶ … Technology in a 2nd grade classroom to improve student achievement in math

Of late, there has been a push to bring in technology to schools where teachers as well as students would be able to reap the benefits of the World Wide Web, the Internet, and other related technologies. In many schools across the United States of America, this fact has been acknowledged and recognized, and many teachers and educators are being trained in the techniques and methods of using these technologies. However, it is also a fact that most teachers have admitted to the truth that they have not been using these technologies, simply because they do not know and they have not been taught, how to, and nor do they have the basic technical support to use these technologies effectively. Power Point, White Boards, Laptops, LCD Projectors, CDROMS, the internet, and others are some of the technologies available to students today, and if proper use were to be made of them, then the students would most definitely do better in all their tests, especially in mathematics, which is a subject that most children seem to fear. It is to be hoped that their scores would show a dramatic improvement if their teachers would learn to face the challenge of integrating these high technologies into the school curriculum, so that the students may be bale to reap the full benefits of these technologies.

Definition of technology, PowerPoint, smart boards, and laptop computers

Technology can be defined as the various technical means that people utilize in order to make their lives easier or to improve their surroundings. The definition would also include the meaning that it would also be inclusive of knowledge of using machines and the other tools that are available today, in order to do any given task in a more efficient manner. Today, technology is used to control or manipulate the world in which we live, and everywhere in the world, people are utilizing technology to makes their lives easier and better and also more in keeping with their surroundings. The very ability to do work has today been dramatically improved by the advances in technology, and in addition, the capacity to communicate better has also increased due to the advancement in technology. When used in a broader sense, technology today is used for making products faster and also better. Even travelers can today travel much faster than ever before because of technology. (Definition of Technology)

Technology can also be defined as the various mechanisms that are used today for distributing messages from one point to another, and which is used for the purpose of communication, and as the basic application of increased knowledge to meet the various requirements of people who may desire goods or services form another individual. (Definitions of technology on the Web) Power Point, on the other hand, can be defined as a presentation software program that is a part of the Microsoft Office Package. It is a technology that allows the user to create slides, notes, handouts, and make presentations. It can also be used as a graphics program for the purpose of creating art, but in general, submissions made on Power Point are not accepted as real art. The presentation can include audio as well, and this would definitely make the package more interesting, especially if it is meant to be used by small children in schools. (Definition of Power Point) Power Point is acknowledged as presentation software, at par with Lotus' Freelance graphics. (Presentation Software)

Smart Boards are highly technical gadgets, which are interactive boards that the teacher can use while making presentations to his classroom. Today, lecterns are becoming obsolete, and in its place are the smart boards, one such being the 'White Board' which are interactive. These use LCD projectors to display images generated by a computer, on the screen, while the teacher lectures to his students. All he would have to do is to touch a certain point, and the image would appear there. In addition, the teacher will be able to hand write anything that he wants to on the board, and then he cane simply save all his notes by the mere touch of a button. In essence, the smart board is the personification of 'power and simplicity' at the touch of a finger. (Interactive White boards, the technology of the future working with Traditional Pedagogical Methodology) A laptop can be defined as a small and portable computer, which is light enough that it can be carried wherever the user wants to, with a small flat keyboard that can be folded so that it would fit into the carry case. In general, a laptop is battery operated, and has an LCD screen. Some models of a laptop computer have certain built in business applications in their CD ROMs. (Web Definition of a laptop computer)

The state of Maths performance, high stakes testing in MA which is the MCAS test, teacher training for technology in the United States, and specifically what is going on in the State of Massachusetts

Today, algebra and other equally complicated math are becoming a part and parcel of the syllabus in most schools, and students are expected to study and pass through thee problems before they can acquire a high school diploma. As a matter of fact, 21 states require that children study the subject for their high school diploma. It must be remembered that at one point of time, algebra as a subject was the sole concern of college bound students, but today, all students of high school are expected to learn the intricacies of algebra and master them before they can pass out of school. This is a phenomenon that seems to have started sometime during the 1990's, and the thinking behind it seems to be that students would need certain skills for college, and they would need to acquire these skills before they can pass out of school, and they would only be acquire thee skills through a study of algebra. The changing workplace may be another reason for the inclusion of algebra as a subject; and the pervasion of technology in the form of digital plans, computer spreadsheets, and cell phone plans would all need a basic comprehension of the technology, and unless students learn it in school, they would not be able to cope with the technology in the world today, where learning to face real life problems has become more important than anything else. (Toppo, 2004)

It must be remembered that in the 1960's, parents and teachers alike happened to clash over what was termed as 'New Math' at that time, and today, the same thing seems to be happening all over again, in this case, with algebra., which is being termed as 'New Math'. The purpose for bringing in algebra into the present curriculum was to lay special emphasis on critical and creative thinking and problem solving, while at the same time, de emphasizing calculating and arithmetic skills in the child, but the problem lies in the fact that there are many individuals who feel that this would virtually undermine the math performance of the students in general. (Toppo, 2004)

Valerie Strauss, in an article in the Washington Post dated 21 December 2004, evaluated the issue of whether or not the children of the United States of America are at par and on the same level with the math performance of other children from other schools all across the globe. Her opinion is that many parents across the United States of America are indeed finding math and its evaluation in the country 'maddeningly complex', and while some teachers prefer to use the math programs that offer different ways with which to solve math problems, some prefer other methods. A study also revealed that on an average, an America fifteen-year-old was definitely lagging behind children from other countries in his basic real life problem solving skills, and most educators, like R. James Milgram of the Stanford University, Jeremy Kilpatrick, of the University of Georgia, and Richard J. Schaar, of Texas Instruments Inc., feel that reforms must be brought in to schools if the math performances were to improve to any extent. (Strauss, 2004)

The MCAS Test, a part of these proposed reforms in schools, which is being used in many schools today, especially in Massachusetts, is also known as the 'Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System'. The test as such has been designed to tap a variety of conceptual levels in the student, right from the lowest level which would construct factual meaning, to the inferential or the interpretative level, to the top level of critical, and evaluation. (MA MCAS ELA Gr 3) These tests are today a part of the State's educational reforms, and they are designed to test a student's knowledge in "Reading, English Language / Arts, and Mathematics, History/Social Science and Science/Technology/Engineering." (MCAS, it counts) Created and developed with the help of the state's curriculum Frameworks, these tests have questions which are a mixture of multiple choices, or open ended questions, and it must be noted that these tests formed the basis of the Citywide Learning Standards of Boston. Students from grade three up to grade eleven would be eligible to take these tests, and those who have not passed the English language / Arts, and Mathematics tests in grade ten would be tested again in grade eleven and twelve. (MCAS, it counts)

The question that arises at this point is no matter what the technology may be, are the teachers in the schools of the United States sufficiently well trained to accept and acknowledge this technology, so that it may be put to its bet use when teaching students? In the opinion of Glenn M. Kleiman, from the Center for Professional Online Education at the Education Development Center, only a 'clear eyed commitment' to using the available technology in the efforts being made to meet central educational goals would enable educators to obtain a clear cut and a substantial return on the huge investments being made for the introduction of technology into schools in the United States, today. At the same time, teachers must be careful and aware of the fact that the extremely rapid influx of high technology in schools is in fact running much ahead of the basic educational vision, and that one would have to be very careful if one were to avoid the pitfalls that may arise due to this factor. (Myths and Realities about Technology in K-12 Schools)

For the most part, in several cases, most teachers, who are responsible for bringing technology that would help and aid the students in their learning, like for example, the high speed Internet connection, multimedia computers, and the like, into schools, are hardly trained or equipped to deal with these advancement, and as a result, none of these technological advances are being made use of in an adequate and appropriate manner. This means that the computers are being used in the fringes of classroom work, like when a teacher wants to reward a student who has done his work quickly, and so on. Teachers often lack the basic software necessary to support the goals of the curriculum, and this means that although there is good software available for educational purposes, if one were not able to recognize them and integrate them into one's curriculum, then the technology would be completely wasted. In a similar manner, technical support is often not available, and if there is a problem, the teacher would have to wait for a long while before a technician would address it, and this means that there would be long delays.

Most importantly, the ways in which the computers are made available for use in schools are often in complete opposition of what the teacher generally uses in her approach to the management of the curriculum and the classroom. For example, today, the aim is to have one computer for very six students, and this would mean that the etcher must be able to re arrange all her activities so that the computer would be made use of sufficiently well, and when some are working on the compute, some others may do something else. Most teachers find this stressful, and they feel that they cannot cope with it. (Myths and Realities about Technology in K-12 Schools)

If the teacher were to be better trained, on the other hand, there would be a better usage of the technology available today. They would know exactly what to do when the technology was to break down for some reason or the other, and they would also know how to make use of the contingency plans if there was a failure. It is not a difficult proposition to think that every teacher would be well trained and well equipped at some future date to implement the technology available today into her classrooms, and integrate it into her teaching methods. Assistance may be provided to them in their search for the best software for teaching, and for technology-based lesson plans, and for online teaching material. It is to be hoped that there will be a time in the very near future when a teacher would be as comfortable using high technology, as she is using the black board and chalk. (Mambretti, 1999)

In the year 2001, the United Nations' Human development Report ranked Metro Boston as being only second in line to Silicon Valley in technology innovations. The reason for this was because of the fact that universities were using technology for their work in a big way, and they were becoming known for their innovations, as well as for their technological excellence. Massachusetts in particular is today considered to be one of the leading technology states in the United States of America. Boston is in fact the undisputed leader in implementing community technology in various schools, and in libraries and various community centers all across the state. (Technology Overview)

The history of when technology started in education, particularly Maths including opposing view

When exactly did technology come into schools of the United States of America? When the High School's Chief Information Officer Rick Bauer noticed the development and advancement of technology into his classroom, it happened when his traditional chalk board and chalk gave way to the more advanced white boards and projectors. Even when that happened, he states that he did not realize the extent to which digital technology and display techniques would soon permeate all classrooms across the United States. He says that he also did not really realize the meager amount of funds that would be made available for the purpose, and the extent to which these limited funds would be stretched between numerous classrooms. Today, Hill School is one of the prominent schools that employ digital teaching methods and tools, for all subjects, including math. (Mimio, making the difference in Learning at one of America's Leading Academies)

The technology named 'mimio' which is a collaborative tool made from virtual Ink, which captures all handwritten texts and images and transfers them onto a personal computer, which can then be shared over the Internet, has permeated these classrooms, and the mimio has proved to be extremely useful, for the teaching and for the learning of English language, arts, and for mathematics. One teacher of the school, Tom Gizzi, states that the students find the mimio a great tool, because they can now concentrate on the lesson being taught and not worry that they have to copy down the notes. Afterwards, the teacher can simply click on the mouse and send the notes to the children. In his words, "it's pretty awesome." (Mimio, making the difference in Learning at one of America's Leading Academies)

Summary

It is quite obvious after research that proper use is nit being made of, of the technology available to schools and to students all across the United States of America, today. Most classrooms do have access to the Internet and to other technologies, and can use them if they knew how to. Therefore, it must be stated that the teachers have to be trained first, so that they would know what to do and how to make the optimum use of the technology to teach their students in such a way that they would be able to score better marks in their various assignments and tests. If there are problems or challenges facing them, then must know how to effectively deal with them, and to overcome them sufficiently so that the technology that has been provided to them does not get wasted and stay unused. When teachers recognize the merits of the latest technologies as related to their teaching, then they would also recognize the true value of the technology, and therefore utilize it for the benefit of the students.