Implementing Technology Into the Classroom

In todays education world, technology has become a major role in helping students learn.
Teachers are able to use technology creatively through their lesson plans to teach material. A
teacher is given the opportunity through technology to reach childrens learning styles in a
different way. Although implementing technology into the classroom has been become very
useful for students, it too has its cons. A teacher once said There is no doubt that the reform
agenda calls for fundamental changes in teaching practices on the part of most teachers. In
some ways the introduction of technology only adds another level of compilation to what is
already a daunting task (ed.gov.).
Expenses are a main challenge of implementing technology into education today.
Purchasing technology, providing internet for the technology, and installing updates for the
technology becomes very costly for the school. Each classroom needs to be provided with access
to the internet allowing each student the opportunity to access the internet at once. Having
enough internet broadband brings great expenses to the school. Also when purchasing
technology, one must be aware of the updates needed to keep the technology running smoothly.
Schools need to take in to account the need for an employee whose job is strictly to help teachers
when they have computer issues. An elementary school project coordinator said It's like putting
gas in the car, you put it in and you want it to run and you don't ever look under the hood. I think
it's the same with computers. . . we need someone. . . who, when computers break down, can be a
troubleshooter(ed.gov.). Adding another employee brings yet another challenge of
implementing technology into education due to expenses.
Grants can be requested by a teacher to help pay for the technology in their classroom. Websites
can also be created to accept donations for a classroom seeking to invest in technology for their
classroom. Although technology can be expensive, results have shown it is well worth it.

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Time is of big essence when implementing technology into a classroom .Teachers are not
able to take time out of their busy schedule to address computer problems. An elementary school
teacher said this
Having a person [in the technology coordinator position] is key to the program. A lot of
schools in this city have no designated person, except a classroom teacher who has been
interested in technology. You really need a person with more expertise who can help the
teachers and is free to go to the classrooms when needed. . . .The classroom teacher
doesn't have the time for troubleshooting. They need to feel comfortable with the fact that
I will come into the classroom and show the kids(ed.gov.).
Finding ways to bring technology into the classroom can sometimes be a bit of a
challenge too. It takes a lot of time and experience to successfully integrate technology.
Implementing technology into the classroom requires a lot of creativity from the teacher. It has
been found to be of great success when creating a lesson plan to build in the integration of
technology through the lesson plan. This makes the process of implementing technology a little
smoother for the teachers.
Another challenge of implementing technology into the classroom is the approach of
getting all staff on board. This can often pose a problem in school due to older educators who
have very little experience with any technology. A few good tips to help get teacher involved
include providing teachers with their own computers to take home and also providing in school
technology maintenance for the teacher and their classroom. Allowing the teacher to have their
own computer to take home and work with not only provides the teacher with value but allows
them to have a greater opportunity to have more creativity through their lesson. When providing

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technology maintenance teachers are able to have less stress of having to worry how technology
is going to work within their classroom.
Last but defiantly not least when a school is deciding on implementing technology into
the classroom their first priority should be their students. They should ask themselves if the
technology will or will not be beneficial to the students learning.
When a school is blessed with the opportunity to have multiple technology resources in
their classroom and teachers have confidence with technology, many benefits towards learning
can be reached by students. A teacher has the chance to affectedly address different learning
styles through using technology in the classroom. Technology gives students the opportunity to
engage more with their peers through different assignments. Todays students love technology
and are highly motivated to work well with the integration of technology in the classroom.
Technology is able to bring a sense of fun to learning. Teachers can also have the ability to use
the integration to help prepare students for their futures in the real world.
As discussed throughout the paper, the integration of technology has it pros and cons.
When implementing technology into a school many decisions have to be made. Can the
technology be afforded? Does the school have someone who can fix the technology when it is
broken? Will all of our staff be able to jump on board? And most importantly will the technology
benefit the children in the school? If the answer to all the questions is yes, then implementing
technology into the school is a great decision.

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Resources
Technology and Education Reform. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/index.html
Weinwright, A. (n.d.). 10 Reasons Todays Students NEED Technology in the Classroom.
Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.securedgenetworks.com/strategy-blog/10-ReasonsToday-s-Students-NEED-Technology-in-the-Classroom
Winnett, D. (n.d.). Four Challenges Classroom Teachers Face When They Integrate Technology
Into Their Teaching. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from
http://www.iccb.state.il.us/student/resource/technology/challenges.html