the effects of technology on students in the classroom

1 The Effects of Technology on Students in the Classroom

The Effects of Technology on Students in the Classroom

Sarah Pence

Liberal Studies Program, California State University, Chico

EDTE 490 W: Liberal Studies Capstone

Dr. Claudia Bertolone-Smith

May 18, 2021

mailto:[email protected]


Abstract

This paper discusses the various ways students can be affected by technology use in the

classroom. Teachers have started to allow students to have more access to computers for learning

and this can either help or hinder the learning that comes with it.The focus is on how technology

can both positively and negatively affect students in regard to how and what they are learning.

Keywords: technology, integration, implementation, learning, behavior


I began attending school in the year 2001. I remember a few years when the only

technology brought into the classroom was a television. As I moved on through elementary

school, the use of computers slowly became more common. It started as only using them to take

reading comprehension quizzes then the next year we would begin practicing typing and how to

navigate the internet to search for information. Then in fifth grade each classroom was given a

Smart Board for teachers to present on and write. This was exciting and new for all of us young

students, having this interactive whiteboard everyone wanted a turn to write answers on. By the

time I reached middle school, computers and smart board technology was commonplace. We

could track our own grades in each of our classes, we could take classes entirely focused on

computers and graphic design at the ages of 12 and 13. It became a larger and larger focus in

high school as assignments began to rely primarily on computer access. I had issues with this

growing up however as throughout both junior high and high school I didn’t possess my own

computer or internet. It wasn’t that my parents weren’t willing to have the internet to make it

easier on me and my schooling, it was that we had an issue of no internet providers being able to

provide the area in which our home was located with access. This led to every online assignment

I was tasked with, to be done on a computer at my mom’s work after five in the afternoon. I

personally also experienced horrible migraines throughout school which led to me not enjoying

the quantities of time I would have to spend on the computer doing homework. This then leads

us back to where technology has been heavily utilized in school even more so due to the Covid

19 pandemic and students having to spend hours on the computer for distance learning.

In recent years, technology has become a major topic in not just the personal lives of

many but has also become much more frequently used in schools. Within the last year, there has


been an even larger surge in its use as students were forced to move online due to the Covid-19

pandemic. It is ever present and growing more and more prevalent as time passes and new

technology is introduced into the lives of adults and children. The first wave of technology

integration was in response to the Cold War era, specifically after the Soviet Union’s launch of

the satellite Sputnik. “In a time of international conflict, the nation decided to invest where it

counted: in its children.”(Pineo, 2018, p.11). This led to more funding being pushed toward

schools to make more advancements with technology, now that the students were being viewed

as the future “doctors, physicists, engineers, and leaders of the free world” (Pineo, 2018, p.11).

This is where this new change began and pushed for greater use of technology in schools than

before. These changes and increased technology being used in schools leads to the question:

what is the best approach to using technology in the classroom for the student’s learning?

Statement of Problem

The problem of practice being addressed in this paper is how technology use affects

students' learning and trying to find the best approach for implementing it in classrooms while

taking this into account. “Computer-based instruction is now prevailing throughout the learning

environments all over the world, reshaping minds and imposing new roles on both teachers and

students” (Alhumaid, 2019, p.13). This refers specifically to technology in the form of computers

but technology can come in many forms and they have all begun to be used in more and more

classes, especially within the last year with a switch to online learning in response to the

Covid-19 pandemic. “Technology is not only being used on a personal level, more often than not

technology is being used in a professional manner, changing our medical field’s scientific

research, and the way in which children are educated” (Unser, 2017, p.5). As technology


advances there becomes a focus on implementing it in schools so students have the experience

with it they may need in future careers. With this increase in use it is important to understand the

effects that too much technology could have on students' health and learning overall and what are

the benefits and issues that come with it?

Justification of the Study

Technology use in schools has continued to increase throughout the years. As its use

grows in the classroom, it is important to take into account the positives and negatives that come

with it. Teachers should know how and when technology can be used to support a child’s

learning as well as what effects too much can have on student health. There are both positives

and negatives and these should be taken into account to best benefit teachers and more

importantly their students.

Positionality

I have worked as a paraprofessional aid for nearly four years. In this time I have worked with

students at many various ages and grade levels with varying levels of skills. During this time I

have been able to work with students in many different subjects using both paper and pencil as

well as guiding them through the use of a chrome book. I have seen students who have become

heavily dependent on technology and almost in a sense addicted to it in the sense that they would

want to obtain access to their computer as soon as possible for them. Then there are also students

however, who struggle with it. A few can’t type very well so they struggle with typing up papers

or searching, however this is when it is a great resource to have the talk-to-text feature of the

computer. A downside of this I have seen though is there is the occasional student whose speech

is not as clear as necessary to use this feature effectively which can lead to frustration.


Many experiences with using technology in the classroom have been provided to me not only

in my current job but as I spoke about upon introducing this paper. Through these experiences I

have been able to find my own pros and cons that come from technology in the classroom. These

are some ideas that will be built on from the following research.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

The use of technology in classrooms has grown rapidly in recent years. Currently, many

schools have gone through an even larger surge of technology use as the Covid 19 pandemic has

taken over and changed how learning and teaching would usually be done. Many teachers were

already using this technology in their classrooms and heavily encouraged to do so before the

pandemic. There has been and continues to be this push for implementation but without much

information provided on the negative effects of too much technology both on students’ learning

and health. It is important to know both the benefits and issues that come with it so teachers can

better understand what the best practices may be for the overall well-being of the students. This

literature review provides a deeper look into what is known about classroom technology use. It

will be an exploration of research done on both the negatives and positives that have been found

through recent studies regarding technology integration in the classroom and its effects on

students both in general education as well as students with special needs and lower income.

There will be a discussion of the writings covering the effects increased technology use can have

on student’s health and behavior.

Before we look further into the literature surrounding technology and the various effects it has on

students, it is necessary to mention the types of technology that tend to be used. The types of


technology that are used in classrooms can be Chromebooks or laptops, desktop computers,

projectors with screens to project presentations or videos, televisions, tablets, and smart boards,

which could be described as electronic whiteboards. This brings up the main problem being

addressed in this paper which is what is the best way to use technology in the classroom for the

students’ learning and health?

Positive Aspects of Technology in the Classroom

When it comes to the integration of technology in the classroom, a great deal of the information

about it comes from a very positive point of view. Much of the research about this topic shares

common, optimistic perspectives about reasoning for why technology should be implemented.

Another common theme amongst literature is that technology aids in creating a student-centered

learning approach. According to Rozalind Muir-Herzig (2004), and her study of technology

impact in the classroom, she specifies that with the computer aid, students are able to collaborate

and find more alternative ways to solve problems. This connects further into what was found by

Sean Leahy, that “new and innovative ways to connect people, information, and learning”

(Leahy, 2019, p.3). A common thread of reasoning for why technology should be used in the

classroom is the idea of communication and access to information being easier and allowing for

easier ways for students to learn. This is a strong reason for why and how technology should be

used in classrooms. Another positive finding was that digital learning “promotes knowledge

sharing among students” (Domingo and Gargante, 2016, p.22). This has had a good effect on

social interaction and how they learn. According to an article by Morris and Hobbs (2019),

technology has made it much easier for both students and teachers to collaborate with both each

other and peers. These positives back up why technology should be used in classrooms and can

also give information regarding how as well.


Negative Aspects of Technology in the Classroom

There have been a growing number of negatives that come with the use of technology

amongst children and adolescents. Alhumaid (2019) found four specific ways in which

technology has negatively impacted education. These reasons included student’s lower

competency in reading, writing, and math, a dehumanizing effect, isolation, and the gap it creates

between social classes. Both handwriting and reading competencies had been hindered by the

introduction of technology into the classroom due to it causing a more “shallow processing of

information” (Alhumaid, 2019, p 13). It is important to look at these negatives and take them

into account when deciding if and how to integrate technology into the classroom.

Most negatives are focused on how the implementation of technology can hinder specific

academic skills, but it can also cause negative impacts on behavior and health of the students.

Pasam (2019) found that anxiety disorders are increased amongst adolescents because they are

unable to regulate emotions due to using digital means of distraction from anxious or distressing

feelings. This then creates a behavior avoidance of emotions and that increased internet use and

depression mutually enforced each other.

Another consequence was that technology use in schools could widen the economic gap.

This would mean any improvements technology could provide, there could also be more

problems created (Unser, 2017). This leads to ideas about what groups may be limited by the use

of technology. The disadvantages these students face is a major negative when it comes to

increased technology in the classroom as “all the improvements technology makes to the

academic experience, can have the potential to take away just as much, or more, if not

implemented correctly” (Unser, 2017, p.35).


Integration of Technology into the Classroom

Many teachers have already taken to making use of varying forms of technology within

their classrooms. Currently teachers have many ways of using technology for themselves and

with their students. There has been research into the specifics of technology integration and how

it should look in the classroom when it is being used successfully. Roland (2016) provides

examples of how teachers can use technology in their classrooms for students to learn while

making the process both effective and exciting for them, such as storytelling, personal

expression, problem solving, and interacting. As referenced above in the section on the positives

of technology, using it for interaction between students and also teacher- student interaction is

seen as a great way to integrate technology and one of its many potential uses.

Technology is integrated by doing so through the academic standards. In the book Infusing

Technology in the K-5 Classroom: A Guide to Meeting Today’s Academic Standards (Morrison,

Novak, & Vanderwerff, 2019), each chapter goes through various ways technology can be used

in addressing grade related standards. It also speaks more directly about practical ideas for

implementation overall. The book gives an example of using different forms of technology to

differentiate the classroom, specifically with math instruction which meets the needs of all

learners (Morrison, Novak, &Vanderwerff ,2019). Limiting technology use in the classroom to

address certain academic standards is a helpful way to make sure it doesn’t take over the

classroom. This limiting means using the technology as a support or resource for small instances

of time throughout the day, and not using it as the main form of learning. More ideas to take into

consideration as to how technology integration can be successful is when “it is adaptive to

students' individual needs, when it can be adapted to the pacing guide and sequence of content

objectives, when it provides experiences (such as complex simulations) that would otherwise not


be feasible, when it uniquely engages students, and when it increases the level of communication

and feedback on student work” (Urbina & Drew, 2017, p.444). If a teacher is going to choose

technological integration, then it is important to understand what it should look like and how

students should benefit.

Conclusion

Technology has become widely used in classrooms all over the world and it is important

to know the best approach to using it for both the health and learning of students. There are many

negatives as well as positives that have been found with its implementation that should be

considered when teachers are deciding how much and what forms to use in their own classrooms.

It can negatively affect some aspects of a student's academics as well as mental health, and cause

limitations for students from lower income families (Unser, 2017). There are positives to be

found such as access to a wide range of information and resources and more availability to

collaborate and communicate between peers. It is important to know how too much technology

can affect a student's learning. It is also necessary on the opposite end to know how it can be

used to support students and build skills and understanding. If teachers choose to integrate, they

should come up with a routine or plan for how to do this most effectively and what the best

practices are for doing so.


METHODOLOGY

This section will discuss the theoretical framework which has been taken into account

while the research for this study was conducted. There will also be information provided within

this section which was gathered from a community partner who was able to provide another

perspective on the topic of technology in schools and how it affects students based on their own

experiences. It will give some insight into what went into researching how technology affects

student learning and health.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework that was found to best support the topic is self study. The self

study has a focus of taking into account personal experiences and looking deeper into why we

may teach something a certain way based on past experiences and how these affect the way you

view a subject or idea. This framework works well with the problem of practice because how

technology is used or integrated in the classroom has much to do with how the teacher feels

about technology which is built through personal experience.

Community Partner Interview

The problem of practice I chose to focus on was technology and the best

approach to using it in the classroom for students’ learning. The community partner, Mrs. Green

can help to gain a better understanding of just how technology in the class may look. They can

also add insights from their own experiences on how technology can affect students in both

positive and negative ways. Mrs. Green currently works in a Montessori education setting where

there is not usually a large amount of technology used in the classroom on a daily basis. Since

use of technology for school related purposes has risen due to Covid 19, Mrs. Green can provide

information about what changes she has seen among her students due to this alteration in method


of instruction. She also provides understanding from the point of view of a teacher who did

regularly utilize technology with her students in small amounts each day before the pandemic

and can clearly state from experience what has and has not worked for them. She works with

students in grades four through six and therefore has worked with many students for multiple

years in a row. Due to this she can also provide more accurate information of how increased

technology has affected these students regarding learning, health, and behavior as well.

As stated briefly above, the community partner, Mrs. Green, works as a teacher in an

upper elementary classroom at a Montessori school, teaching grades four through sixth. She has

been in education for over thirteen years now in many various positions. She received her

bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and credential thereafter in 2008. Mrs. Green has worked in

her current Montessori position for about five years. Mrs. Green had previously said she loves

working in education because she herself is always learning as well.

Mrs. Green first relayed what types of technology she specifically uses in her own

classroom which was Chromebooks or laptops mainly for the use of Google, and resources such

as Google Classroom and Google Drive. This technology has been increasing during the Covid

19 pandemic with the implementation of distance learning. Though the use in her classroom has

increased somewhat, she was making use of these programs even before they became more

necessary. They helped a great deal with giving assignments as well as some lessons. This has

supported what I had seen regarding what types of technology is used in many classrooms. She

also has a television screen to project what is on her own computer to the class when teaching for

some of these lessons that works somewhat similarly to the use of smart board technologies in

other classrooms/ schools.


Another idea discussed with Mrs. Green was some of the issues she has found with using

technology. For one she noticed that with more use, students have started to become frustrated

much more easily for example when the internet is running more slowly and therefore causes

programs not to load as quickly or even at all. Something she said that added to more of these

issues was increased copying and pasting of information off the internet and therefore plagiarism

because it is so much easier for them to directly use what they find on the internet. Mrs. Green

also noted a limiting creativity due to this higher computer use also related to the previously

mentioned copy and paste issue among students. She has noticed they struggle much more with

coming up with their own ideas and putting what they read into their own words. Two aspects of

this internet use I had read about in my own research which Mrs. Green also mentioned

experiencing with students are distractions and cyberbullying. The distractions she has seen were

due to things like games being easily accessed while students are supposed to be working on

assignments, so a common problem is students having multiple tabs open to click back and forth

between to hide game playing when the teacher is looking. I had read other problems with

distractions from technology in my initial research. Cyberbullying was another I read about

initially which Mrs. Green has also experienced with students and steps have had to be taken

toward limiting the instances thereof by much more oversight by teachers through programs that

monitor student communications at school through things like email.

Mrs. Green also provided the more positive aspects of technology integration she has

noticed. She specifically mentioned the fact that technology can be an endless resource which

provides so many options for learning. It is also helpful for writing purposes and makes it easier

for legible writing and collaboration between peers on projects such as powerpoint presentations.

There were just as many benefits as there were issues she has experienced.


Regarding students who can be limited by technology use, she spoke about groups in

Special Education and who come from lower incomes. These were groups I had also focused on

while researching as well as they are a huge consideration when integrating technology into the

classroom. Technology can cause disadvantages for these students for many reasons.

Mrs. Green also provided some insight into what she has noticed when it comes to more

time in front of a computer and her student’s health. She noticed more headache complaints and

eyes hurting from the strain of staring at the screen for too long. There were also more feelings

of isolation or being moody from less interaction and working with peers face to face or in

groups.

Overall, the community partner was able to provide many new insights into the problem

of the technology in the classroom that had not been discovered in previous reading. However,

many of the ideas discussed in the interview greatly supported many aspects of what has been

written about the issue up until now with the problems and benefits with technology use and

ideas such as time spent using technology daily. She was able to back up information that has

been provided and provide great ideas that help add to and support current research.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This section will provide information on what some of the findings were when

researching the topic of using technology in the classroom. This will detail what main ideas

seemed to come up the most and what seemed to be the most important information on the topic

of technology use with students. This will focus on the key elements found from the research


which allowed for better overall understanding of what the best approach to using technology in

the classroom should be.

Discussion of Findings

After interviewing a community partner and reviewing the literature, it has become

increasingly clear how important it is to have a plan in place for what technology will be used for

when choosing to implement it into the classroom. Teachers should know or be trained on the

most effective uses of technology to be able to teach most efficiently and effectively. It can

make sharing and communication amongst peers much easier as well (Muir- Herzig, 2004).

Although there are many helpful and effective ways it can be used, there can be downsides which

is why teachers should be well informed. Students should be given clear expectations when it

comes to computer use to avoid issues such as cyberbullying or allow distractions to their

learning such as trying to play games which could negatively impact their learning and mental

health. Students who come from families with lower income may not have internet connection or

computers at home and that can cause disparities when it comes to using these things in the

classroom they may not be familiar with or they may not be able to complete assignments at

home if these technologies are required of them. Some students who have certain disabilities

may also experience problems when it comes to increased use of technology as well due to

things like not being able to type or possibly disliking the stimuli that may be created by the

computer whether it be visually or audibly and it could cause them greater frustration. The

individual children, who they are and their background should be a consideration for example

when it comes to writing/ interacting with the smart board or completing assignments on a

computer.

CONCLUSION


Conclusion

With an increase of technology use in the classroom it is important for educators to know

both the positives and negatives which no doubt come with it. Students learning can benefit from

technology integration if the teachers have knowledge of the most effective strategies and

programs to provide students with for this to happen. Teachers should also be aware of the

potential negative impacts of having students on computers for too long without the proper and

necessary guidance. With proper knowledge and implementation technology use can improve

student learning and educators should have clear strategies in mind for what they want this

technology use to look like for the overall education and well-being of their students they are

hoping to help.

Implications and Recommendations

Moving forward I want to keep in mind both issues and benefits that can come from

integrating technology into classroom settings when working in my own classroom. These ideas

can help me to plan specific time allotments for assignments I may want my students to complete

on the computer. I also want to have reputable programs and software at my disposal to act as a

support and resource for my students to help them learn in the best way possible. I do not want

my students or myself to rely on technology but to use it as support that allows my students to

build upon their knowledge. I want to be sure that it is adding to their learning rather than taking

away. I will also keep in mind that some of my students may enjoy using various forms of

technology and some may not so there should be a limit each day to the amount of time students

spend in front of a screen. It is important to remember that some students may not have

computers at home and may need more assistance than others when working on them. This

should also be a consideration when deciding whether or not to assign homework that requires a


computer or internet connection. Teachers should focus overall on what will benefit their

students' learning when choosing how they will bring technology into the classroom. This

research should push teachers to think more critically about what they use technology for such as

reading, or writing and therefore deciding what will help student’s the most overall.


References

Alhumaid, K. (2019). Four ways technology has negatively changed education. Journal of

Educational and Social Research, 9(4). doi:10.2478/jesr-2019-0049

Domingo, M. G., & Garganté, A. B. (2016). Exploring the use of educational technology in

primary education: Teachers' perception of mobile technology learning impacts and

applications' use in the classroom. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 21-28.

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.023

Edutopia. (2007, November 06). What is successful technology integration? Retrieved

February 25, 2021, from

https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description

Leahy, S. M., Holland, C., & Ward, F. (2019). The digital frontier: Envisioning future

technologies impact on the classroom. Futures, 113, 102422.

doi:10.1016/j.futures.2019.04.009

Morris, B., & Hobbs, T. (2019, September 03). Schools pushed for tech in every classroom.

now parents are pushing back. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-a-school-district-where-technology-rules-grades-fall

-parents-ask-why-11567523719

Morrison, V., Novak, S., & Vanderwerff, T. (2019). Infusing technology in the K-5

classroom: A guide to meeting today's academic standards. Portland, OR:

International Society for Technology in Education.



https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-a-school-district-where-technology-rules-grades-fall-parents-ask-why-11567523719




Muir-Herzig, R. G. (2004). Technology and its impact in the classroom. Computers &

Education, 42(2), 111-131. doi:10.1016/s0360-1315(03)00067-8

Pasam, R. (2019). Advances in digital technology: Effect on child and adolescent behavior.

Archives of Mental Health, 20(2), 37. doi:10.4103/amh.amh_25_19

Pineo, A. (2018). Cold War in the Classroom: Effects of the Onset of the Cold War on

Public Education. Bridgewater State University- Honors Program Theses and Projects.

Roland, J. (2016, December 08). How to make technology in classrooms effective and

exciting. Retrieved April 1, 2021, from

https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/how-make-technology-classrooms-effective-an

d-exciting1612.html

Unser, C. E. (2017). A Study on The Positives and Negatives of Using Technology In The

Classroom. Undergraduate Honors College Theses.

Urbina, A., & Polly, D. (2017). Examining elementary school teachers’ integration of

technology and enactment OF Tpack in mathematics. The International Journal of

Information and Learning Technology, 34(5), 439-451.

doi:10.1108/ijilt-06-2017-0054

https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/how-make-technology-classrooms-effective-and-exciting1612.html




APPENDICES

Community Partner Interview

Question 1: What kind of technology do you implement in the classroom?

Well even before the pandemic we were using Chromebooks and we were using a lot of Google

like Google Drive, Google Classroom, but then since we started distance learning, I started with

Google Classroom and then switched over to Altitude Learning. So really, technology wise it

really is just the laptops and Chromebooks.

Question 2: What do you use technology for the most?

So now it is mostly virtual learning so assigning assignments, keeping track of student

assignments and those are the big things I use it for the most and then also giving lessons.

Question 3: Do you feel technology should be utilized by students in the classroom?

To a certain extent, and especially at this grade level [grades 4 to 6], and Montessori isn’t big on

technology, it’s much more about hands-on, concrete materials, but again even before the

pandemic, I decided that having access to technology or knowing/ getting familiar with the

keyboard, the mouse, the mousepad, is good to have for them in the future for middle school,

high school, and college if they choose to go to college, it’s just a good skill to have and

maneuver. And to tell you the honest truth I am truly thankful for exposing them to it because

when the pandemic hit and we all shut down last year, they weren’t clueless at home by

themselves trying to figure out how to open up a Google Doc or how to access Google

Classroom. But yes, to a certain extent.


Question 4: What are some of the benefits you have found of using technology in the

classroom?

I guess resources and lists but not all the resources are legitimate and for some students for

writing because its more legible when those students are typing like on a Google Doc. And going

back to the writing piece its just students know how to manage their time. There’s less time on

lets say a specific writing assignment because if they type everything already and when we go to

the editing and all we have is revising, they don’t have to rewrite everything they can just

quickly fix it. The other thing is the nice thing about technology, specifically the Google aspect

of it and the drive is that a student can be working on a document and I can also be working on

the document and we can be working at the same time and same thing if its a collaborative

assignment and they have to do a document together, they can definitely do that all at the same

time and even in different locations. Those are the benefits.

Question 5: What are some of the issues you have found/ experienced with students using

technology?

I think we kind of live in a world with technology where it’s that instant gratification and getting

right then and there and if they don’t get it… kids are easily frustrated and even myself as an

adult I am easily frustrated. The world of copy and paste everything, I think with that it limits

student’s creativity. The other day we were talking and I had a student ask me “Mrs. Green is it

okay if for my women’s history month research if I can just copy and paste what I read?” And I

told them that that’s plagiarism unless you give credit where credit is due so that is a learning

also how to site their sources. So I told them, I really want you to understand what you’re

reading so for them to put it into their own words is a skill to have and when you copy and paste


then you’re not really developing that. Distraction, having technology is a huge distraction for

students who are easily distracted and another is just cyberbullying happening and it goes under

the radar unless like the other day [I was asked] if I want to receive all my student’s emails as

they are emailing other students and I never thought that we would have access to that but at the

beginning of the year we had an issue with a student from from our class and another teacher's

class and it became a he-said-she-said thing because we just don't have access to any of their

emails. We had no proof or anything so now that we have access to it it's just a better way to

monitor that that doesn't happen.

Question 6: Do you think it can cause limitations for some students? Students whose

families have lower income? Students in special education?

Low income for sure lots of limitations there and that's going into your next question too and I'm

going to explain a little but with special needs technology has always been like a tool or a

resource to help students. So like when I think of some of our students in the classroom have an

IEP or even some students before that are no longer there technology has always just been a

resource for them all though they're sometimes it might become a hindrance because they're very

reliant on it.

Question 7: If you personally have students who fall into one of these categories, what did

these limitations look like?

Low income I think there is just a huge disadvantage especially if it is like what we are doing

now where some students are learning from home. If you are low income and you can’t afford

the top of the line then it is frustrating when you are waiting for something to load or the Zoom

connection is so horrible that you can’t even have a proper one-on-one session or office hour


session that is just a huge disadvantage on the student’s end.Share devices like the family could

only afford the one device and everybody was sharing it. So then it just goes along the line of

just equity and it’s just not equitable when you’re telling everybody to do the same thing or

handing out the same assignments expecting everybody to have the same internet speed to do

what we are asking them to do.

Question 8: Have you seen changes in behavior with use of technology? If so, what are

some examples?

Yes I have. And with us being in a Montessori classroom and where technology isn't used as

much now move faster in a lot of things on altitude learning students just don't want to use the

materials and it's not just the materials it's other resources like if they have to do research and I

have books available nobody is pulling out the books even if their picture books and I think the

kids would enjoy it they aren't even pulling that out just to do research. and then sometimes what

I find is kids are just more sneaky and when I'm finding is that kids are smart and quick. go have

a whole bunch of tabs open and sometimes they’ll see “oh Mrs.Green is walking by” And close

everything and students will just use their Tech Computer as a prop as if they're doing their work

when they're really not doing their work.

Question 9: How much time would you prefer students use technology at school?

Between 32 an hour not daily but it depends on the activity or the assignment. So if they're doing

like a research project I'm just assuming it's going to take longer but I would think that students

wouldn't necessarily take that long but I do know that some students purposely take a long time


because they sometimes want to be in front of the screen. But 30 to an hour depending on the

assignment and the day.

Question 10: Do you think it is important that teachers are educated about technology

before implementing it in their classrooms?

I am a big advocate for technology because I do enjoy technology and using that as a tool within

the classroom to teach and then for students also. but I do think that teachers should have some

sort of training or specific platform. For example when we rolled out altitude learning we had

maybe two trainings but then it's so different when it's virtually because you're trying to gather

all the information and not really have any time to play around with it. and the administrators

could probably throw like that altitude learning at us and say learn this but for the teaching I

want it to be efficient and if it's not my time is valuable and I don't have enough time as it is

would I ever really have time to learn it on my own. But I also think that it's okay to learn as you

go. Because with altitude learning although we did have training on it really I didn't learn

anything until I started playing around with it. And the other thing I wanted to just note is that I

want my students to know I make mistakes to and it's okay to be human in their eyes and they

can think “oh wow Mrs. Green made a mistake” Then actually showing them the process of my

learning from my mistake and how to fix it, how to go about it and that I can get frustrated but

then snap out of it and regroup and what can I do instead? So I guess it is important to have

training but then not having any training shouldn't stop us from trying out specific platforms or

technology.


Question 11: Has there been a time when you thought a lesson would benefit from the use

of technology? Any you found work best without?

I thought of this and I thought about when I would use technology so before the pandemic I did

use my TV, my Chromebook and I found that most of my science specifically my science lessons

would have some sort of Google slide that goes along with the lesson or maybe a video and not a

long video. When I'm looking for videos to put into my lesson it's got to be 4 minutes or less.

Or the kids are just not going to pay attention beyond that. So I find that kids enjoy watching

science videos and I do too and that's why I use them in a lot of my science ones. And lessons

that could do without it I said my math lessons can do without technology. It's always nice to

have the concrete Montessori materials to start off a concept. Also reading and writing can do

without technology for sure in my lessons for students.

Question 12: What is the best approach for using technology for both the health and

learning of the students?

I'm going to be honest with you, since we switched over the amount of technology used in

screen time has caused just health-wise more headaches and there are moments when my eyes

are just so strained I tell myself I have to walk away from. And those blue light glasses don't

help much. And even though we meet over Zoom it is just nothing like being in a normal

classroom and students tend to feel more isolated and that's not healthy also. I worry about

students who don't have a close-knit friend group when it comes to feelings of depression.

the effects of technology on students in the classroom

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