Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

The Role of Technology in Education

Sarah Sennett
State University of New York at Oneonta

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

Schools and teachers provide an environment for students to learn and prepare for
becoming a member of society. Due to the many changes that have occurred over the years, the
way teachers approach student learning has changed as well. Where once a one-room school
house required students to complete activities and work with others in the room on a small
chalkboard or paper, now stand large schools with SMART boards, computers, and tablets for
interacting with individuals all over the globe. Therefore, teachers cannot teach as they once did
years ago. As society changes, so does education. Over the last few decades, the focus on
improving learning has included a technology component. In 1968, Mary-Margaret Scobey
wrote that she hopes technology contributes to the increasingly complex task of educating
children who must make an effective adjustment to a demographic society and a scientifictechnological culture (Brusic & Shearer, 2014). With technology existing is so many homes
and businesses today, it crucial now more than ever that we prepare our students to be college
and career ready with 21st century skills.
When a teacher plans a lesson for the students in their class, they do so with the intent on
making sure that the students are learning and using the information that they teach. In 1956, Dr.
Benjamin Bloom collaborated with other education professionals to publish a set of categories
that explain the varying levels of learning. It is commonly referred to as Blooms Taxonomy and
promotes higher forms of thinking in education. According to this model, knowledge is the most
basic form of learning followed by comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and finally
evaluation (Vanderbilt University, 2014). By focusing on activities that require students to use a
deeper level of thinking (according to Bloom) teachers are ensuring that their students are not
only memorizing facts but truly analyzing and applying what they have learned to then be able to

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

use it in a more meaningful and constructive way. This is what teachers should be striving to
achieve in their lesson and unit plans that they prepare for their students.
Many pre-service teachers, while completing their collegiate studies, are instructed on
Blooms taxonomy and learn how to effectively use his model for creating and enhancing their
lesson plans. Beyond learning how to use Blooms taxonomy, students should also be learning
how to successfully incorporate technology into their lessons. This is the stage in the young
teachers career when they should begin to realize using technology in the classroom can be
synonymous with Blooms higher levels of learning. By creating lessons where students use
technology to collaborate, critically think, and produce evidence of their learning studentteachers will quickly find that their class is using higher level thinking and technology at the
same time, ultimately preparing the learners to enter society technologically prepared.
To create individuals who are prepared after the completion of high school to attend
college or begin their first job, teachers need to prepare students to work in a global society.
Schools must adapt their curriculum to teach 21st century skills so students can function in an
ever-growing technological world. Helping to promote these skills is the group called
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). By bringing together businesses, communities,
government leaders, and individuals in the education field they are encouraging law makers to
support schools to help better prepare the students for the challenges they may face (Brusic &
Shearer, 2014). A few of the crucial 21st century skills students will need is the ability to
problem solve, be a critical thinker, and collaborate with others (Poscopella, 2005).
Coincidentally, these skills are all included in the higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy. This is
proof that blending technology into classroom lessons will be beneficial and effortless.

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

If teachers fail to recognize the capabilities that technology has on enhancing instruction,
they may potentially teach for decades without providing their students the opportunities to
expand the students learning using these tools. A study recently completed in Turkey looked at
factors that may have an effect on the usage of technology in the elementary classroom. In the
study they provided questionnaires to several elementary teachers. The first part of the poll was
used to collect demographic information. The second section measured the internet attitudes of
the teachers. When the assessment was completed, the study found that teachers were more
knowledgeable when it came to simple tasks (i.e. searching the internet, emails, word processing,
etc.) and have limited to no knowledge on more difficult applications (i.e. creating web pages,
animations, databases, etc.). This study as well as others found that there is a direct correlation
between the technology knowledge the teacher has and the type of information and
communication technologies they were providing their students. Therefore, the majority of the
teachers were providing basic technology usage to their students because they were unable to
provide the education using the tools to promote higher level learning (Varol, 2013). This is why
it is crucial that colleges and universities make sure that pre-service teachers are integrating
technology into their lessons effectively and districts who are hiring make sure that applicants
are capable of creating and implementing lessons that include important 21st century skills
through the use of technology devices.
Although it is essential that we prevent new teachers from starting their careers with an
inability to proper teach our students 21st century skills, it is equally as important to support
current teachers with professional development opportunities to help and encourage them to
rethink how they provide everyday instruction. Many schools have obtained the funding that
they needed to bring technology into their school district. Many classrooms have more than one

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

computer, a SMART board, tablets, and other devices. However, many teachers are not using
these devices to promote the 21st century skills. Seymour Papert (2005) stated, What our
schools are learning to do with this technology is not to use it for radical change in teaching but
to use it to support what has already been done in 20th century learning (p.51). It is because of
this that teachers are apprehensive to use educational technology. They do not see benefits of
using it. If teachers had the professional development that they need, they would restructure the
way that they teach and a whole new level of learning would take place in their classrooms. It is
not until we are asking students to use the technology to apply Blooms higher levels of learning
that we are truly creating a future generation that is ready to enter the world prepared for the
tasks that may arise in their future careers.
One item that many teachers and pre-service teachers are not always cognizant of is that
preparing students to enter the 21st century workforce can begin even in the elementary grades.
To help students and teachers understand what is required of them in todays society, Sharon
Brusic and Korbin Shearer (2014) created posters that teachers could display in their classrooms
about the ABCs of 21st century skills. Each poster contains a letter of the alphabet at the top,
graphics, and lists technology words that start with the designated letter underneath. For
instance, the poster with the letter C contains the following words: critical thinking, creativity,
collaboration, and civic mindedness. It is their hope that if the posters are displayed, it will
promote conversation and engage children in understanding the expectations of 21st century
learners (Brusic & Shearer, 2014). With so many teachers already using word walls as a
teaching method, this should be an easy addition for them to include into their classrooms and
ultimately their lessons. Teaching these important technology terms in the primary grades will
help to establish a foundation that can be built upon throughout the years. When asking students

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

to evaluate, design, or collaborate, the students will know what is being asked of them and will
feel more confident when completing the task before them. Also, by having the teachers
instructing these words and using them daily, they may be more inclined to include these types
of activities into their lessons to show the students first-hand what is being required of them.
When teachers are preparing their lessons they need to be mindful when including
technology. They need to make sure that they are using those 21st century terms mentioned
above to promote higher level thinking beyond the standard paper and pencil activity. Requiring
students to collaborate with others can provide opportunities for learning to take place.
Whitney and Smallbone (2011) found that collaborative efforts produce greater learning
opportunities for students (Pilgrim, Bledsoe, & Reily, 2012). Teachers have always had
students work in groups to facilitate this type of learning, however imagine the impact it could
have if students were collaborating with other students in schools within their district, state,
country, or even the world. Setting up a classroom blog or student blogs can provide such an
opportunity. Kist, Doyle, Hayes, Horwitz, and Kuzior (2010) are not five researchers in a lab,
nor are they associates in a single school. They are five teachers in disparate locations of the
world, varying from a suburban Ohio elementary school, to Kent State University, to a New
Zealand elementary school. By communicating through blogs, the students are collaborating
and learning from each other via the internet (Jerles, 2010). Multimedia is a natural part of their
communication and the Internet is so lets use those communication media to give them
authentic ways to communicate their learning said Steven Kalmon the Information Literacy
and Technology coordinator, Denver Public Schools (Pascopella, 2005). Currently many of our
businesses communicate via the internet and therefore are able to expand their company
overseas. Just like major CEOs, students have the potential to communicate across the globe

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

too. Understanding how to communicate via the internet to people of different cultures,
religions, and demographics is definitely preparing the students for the workforce. Joe Jerles
(2012) also writes that blogging allowed students to write for a much broader audience beyond
their own teacher. When doing so, the students realized that they needed to revise more
carefully, made their posts more purposeful, and developed a wider perspective on topics (p. 86).
Jerles (2010) adds, Creating and using blogs in the early grades is an excellent way of
stimulating writing and literacy as well as incubating imaginations of young students (p. 87).
Another great resource that many classes today have access to is a tablet. Tablets, such
as the iPad allow the user to be mobile when working with the device. Since the first iPad was
introduced in January of 2010, over twenty-two million iPads were sold in a span of three years
(Brocious, 2014). Many of these iPads have been sold to schools and teachers in order to
facilitate learning. Instructors and students who use the iPads find many benefits that aide them
in their day-to-day activities. Students can take notes, keep track of activities in the calendar,
take pictures, use the calculator, and utilize many educational applications (apps) to help them
learn difficult concepts. In one Texas school, teachers and parents are conducting meetings
through Facetime. Facetime can also provide a venue for guest speakers, interviews, and peer
discussions (Pilgrim, Bledsoe, & Riley, 2012). Because of its versatility, the tablet lends itself
to many different types of occupations. If a student learns to use a tablet to collaborate, evaluate
data, along with designing and creating presentations they will become valuable to many
companies across the globe.
Using an iPad or blogging in the classroom are just a few of the many ways teachers can
use technology to promote 21st century skills. According to Sologuk, Stammen, & Vetter (2001)
DACUM (Development a Curriculum) is a relatively new and innovative approach to

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

occupational analysis developed by the Center for Education and Training for Employment at
Ohio State University. It has proven to be a very effective method of quickly determining, at
relatively low cost, the competencies or tasks that must be performed by persons employed in a
given job or occupational area (p. 200). By studying the tasks, skills, tools, and attitudes need
at each job, they can create a competency-based curriculum and instructional materials. Thus
allowing teachers to look at their curriculum and apply the technology to lessons that are going
to be required in workplace. Teachers who were involved in the study were favorable to this
approach and many continued using the methods after the study was completed. They felt that
the product was useful when integrating multimedia into the classroom (Sologuk, et al., 2001).
This is just another tool that teachers can use to help with including technology into their daily
lessons.
Molding young learners to be college or career ready is crucial for their success. The
skills that are needed to evolve in todays society are critical thinking, collaborating,
communicating, problem solving, innovating, and so many more. Blooms taxonomy stresses
the importance of teaching these skills to learners so that they are prepared to enter society. Due
to the increase of technology devices in homes and businesses, it is even more crucial that
students can execute these skills using the various devices to be successful in their careers.
Often jobs require the use of wikis, blogs, and other forms of digital content for research,
collaboration, and communication thus allowing more productive members of a globally
competitive workforce. Using technology in the classroom can be difficult, time consuming, and
expensive. However, it the expectations of schools and teachers that the graduates of today are
prepared to enter college or the workforce ready to use 21st century skills. Integrating

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

technology into the classroom can provide the very opportunities that our students need to be
successful.

Running head: TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

10

References
Brocious, T. (2014). 2 grants + 2 iPads: The quest to be on the cutting edge of learning with
technology. Making Literary Connections, 1-11.
Brusic, S., & Shearer, K. (2014). The abc's of 21st century skills. Children's Technology and
Engineering, 18(4), 6-10.
Center for Teaching. (2014). Bloom's taxonomy. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from Vanderbilt
University website: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/
Jerles, J. (2010). Blogging in elementary school: Why, how, and what teachers can do to
encourage writing. National Teacher Education Journal, 5(3), 85-88.
Pascopella, A. (2005, October). Catalyst for change. District Administration, 50-60.
Pilgrim, J., Bledsoe, C., & Reily, S. (2012). New technologies in the classroom. The Delta
Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 16-22.
Sologuk, S., Stammen, R., & Vetter, R. (2001). A collaborative approach for creating curriculum
and instructional materials. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 9(2), 199210.
Varol, F. (2013). Elementary School Teachers and Teaching with Technology. The Turkish
Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(3), 85-90.