iPads are currently one of the most popular items to have, whether it be
at home or at school .
The use of technology in a classroom to some is a controversial topic. Many parents and some teachers don’t believe that technology including iPads should should be used in a classroom. This could be because there is such a gap between how children today and their parents are being taught. Having technology in the classroom, is a hard concept to get on-board with since so many children spend most of their time at home on technology.
Khawlah Ahmed states, “it’s only logical that classrooms move beyond traditional methods of teaching”. What Ahmed calls a “traditional classroom” is what todays parents grew up in, which consisted of chalk boards as well as pen and paper work. Ahmed believes we need to move away from that, especially in today’s ever growing technology based world. A way to achieve this, is by incorporating the use of technology into the classroom. Not only does technology allow for an inclusive classroom environment, it allows students at all levels of learning to participate, learn and grow.
Another concept of a “non-traditional” classroom is having it be fully accessible to all students. Being an accessible classroom doesn’t simply mean removing physical barriers but also ensuring that all students are getting the proper tools, to succeed. An example of how to reduce barriers, and use technology to accommodate involves a student who is having difficulty reading being given an iPad that has the same stories that the class is reading but downloaded onto it and a set of headphones to listen to the audio. This allows the student to listen to the automated voice while also following along with the highlighted words as they are being read. Not too many people see a difference in either methods but the iPad tool actually allows the student to increase or decrease the speed of the reading as well as visually seeing where they are at in the story. Some iPad apps actually allow the students to stop, repeat and breakdown sentences and words thus allowing them to build their vocabulary. Having students able to recognize and understand words that are being read to them as well as the confidence to begin reading without the iPad, is the ultimate goal.
I hope you enjoyed my first post, see ya next Wednesday!
Danielle 🙂
Reference
Ahmed,K. (2015). Incoproating iPad Technology: Creating More Effective Language Classrooms. TESOL Journal 6.4