Using Technology to Support Learning

In this study, a first grade teacher was observed as she incorporated technology into her classroom.  The technology included various websites, cameras, and programs like PowerPoint.  Ms. Rathkey, the teacher under observation, emphasized that technology is a learning support and used it to facilitate her students' connection of prior knowledge to new material.  The children had the opportunity to make digital stories that studied animals and their habitats that they could take home to show their families.  Any tool that builds a relationship between parents and the classroom while supporting students in their exploration of a topic is a huge benefit to a teacher.  Projects like this allow children to be exposed to computers and learn to animate and organize, but also to compare to the research and knowledge gained from previous reading and class discussions.  Technology has the capability to blend many projects together into one document the children can save and be proud of.  I believe strongly that technology should not replace other styles of learning in the classroom because social interaction and play is extremely important, but it has such a unique use in supporting and connecting learning as well as communication between parents, students and teachers.  It is a tool that should definitely be taken advantage of.