Running head: COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

Computers in the Classroom: How Information Technology Can Improve

Conservation Education
Lauren Spotkov
Molloy College

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Abstract

In order to teach effectively in todays society, the use of technology is vital. Technology
can improve education in the classroom, simply because it is a way of getting infinite amounts of
information in minutes, it is also a means of increasing student involvement and promoting
classroom community. Technology has become a way of life that is necessary for effective
teaching and learning.

COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

Computers in the Classroom: How Information Technology Can Improve

Conservation Education
The article Computers in the Classroom: How Information Technology Can Improve
Conservation Education examined technology in the classroom setting. The article focused on
how technology improves learning and that it needs to be used correctly in order to be successful
in doing so. The research states: Information technology is underused because many of us have
not had the time or the opportunities for professional development to explore how to utilize
technology to better connect our teaching and learning (Brewer 2003, p. 657). The article
overall focused on the positives of technological use in the classroom.
The purpose of the article was to explain the influence of technology on teaching. Its
goal was for the teacher to articulate why technology was being used and what it was being used
for before using it to make learning more effective.
Computer-based technologies can be powerful pedagogical tools (in addition to being
rich sources of information) and can turn the passive recipient of information into an
active participant in the learning. But just as technological tools in our research are of
limited value if we have not identified a question before using them, they are of little
instructional value if we have not clarified our goals for student learning before bringing
them into the classroom. In the pedagogy lies the power of the teaching tool. Effective
use of information technology requires faculty to make decisions about the goals of the
course that relate to the content, what students should know and be able to do at the end
of the course, and how the learning environment will be organized to provide students
with the best opportunity to meet the course goals (Brewer 2003, p. 657-658).

COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

This article articulates the point that technology can improve learning if it is used well. It is also
considered student-centered, and a way of learning that is focused on cognitive development
(Brewer 2003, p. 659). Technology was said to make learning more enjoyable and increase
overall knowledge in students.
According to the research, the use of technological instruction is more engaging for
students, due to the new ways to represent data and complete assignments. Technology can be its
own learning community. This is accomplished when Internet resources become hosts for
homework assignments. Teachers can assign homework that can be done online, or create
discussion boards where students have to respond to questions that were previously provided by
the teacher. These assignments promote classroom community because it is an outlet that
students have to communicate with each other and work together. Technology can also provide
real-time assessments and learning because of how quickly information from all over the
world can be received (Brewer 2003, p. 658-659).
In reading this article is it clear that technology is a positive aspect to classroom learning
and teaching and aims to be a part of daily practice. The article states: Ultimately, the qualities
of education that we care most about are not technological; they are matters of educational
philosophy and practicein thinking about education, we ought not to be preoccupied with
computers at all, and if the transition is successful, we will not be (Starr, 1996). The goal is for
technology to be used for most activities in the class, as effortlessly as a pencil and a piece of
paper.
This article highlighted technology as being a prominent tool to improve the way
students learn and a new way to reach struggling students. Technology was described as a
means of reorganizing teaching to focus on student learning opportunities afforded by these

COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM

rapidly evolving technologies (Brewer 2003, p. 659). Overall, technology increases learning
and will better the classroom environment if the teacher properly presents it in the classroom.

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Reference

Brewer, C. (2003). Computers in the classroom: how information technology can improve
conservation education. Conservation Biology, no 3 Ju 2003: 657-659.