Why Technology Skills

Why Technology skills are needed in the classroom

As a parent of a high school age daughter and a middle school age son I have a little different perspective to this question compared to the majority of college students. As a parent I'm immersed in the policy issues, funding issues, standardized testing concerns, technology issues, and the list goes on. Furthermore, having worked several years for a large corporation has exposed me to the changes, and challenges that technology has put on the workplace and the skills needed to succeed.
So why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a parent I think one thing rises to the top of the list. Having the skills to use technology for active engaged communication between educators, students, parents, and administrators is one of the most important reasons why technology skills are needed. Having these skills is not a luxury in today's environment but a necessity. According to the EdTech Action Network, technology engages students in learning, improves attendance, reduces dropout rates while increasing graduation rates and facilitates parent involvement. A website like PowerSchool that parents and students can log into and review grades, attendance, grade history, teacher comments, school bulletins, and calendars is one example of this communication. Others forms of communication such as email, text messages, blogs, and video conferences via web cams can also be used to facilitate communication. This immediate engaged communication can help all of us, recognize issues before they become problems, see strengths and capitalize on those strengths, and make informed decisions based on current information.
So again why are technology skills needed in the classroom? From the perspective of a professional in a large corporation, I lived the transition from typed memos in your inbox to emails, from booking a flight to attend a meeting to sitting at my desk video conferencing, from transparent sheets on a projector to PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, Access databases, and Excel Spreadsheets. All of these technologies are not just in large corporations but in all business. For tomorrows professional to succeed they will need to be masters of these technologies. These skills will need to be second nature just to compete. The more exposure we can give to these technologies in the classroom, the better prepared the student will be to take on this challenge. According to the EdTech Action Network, today’s students must learn more than the basics to be prepared for life. They go on to say that Students who use technology develop the skills, academic knowledge and work habits that are necessary for success in the workplace.
Why are technology skills needed in the classroom? No matter what perspective you look from, you will see the same landscape. The world is changing and for us as students, parents, teachers, administrators, and citizens we will need many tools in our tool bag in order to succeed. Technology is one of the tools which will be vital to that success no matter what your definition of success is.

References
EdTech Action Network. (n.d.). ETAN. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from Children + Technology = America's Future: http://www.edtechactionnetwork.org/technology_schools.html


Pearson Education, Inc. . (2007). PowerSchool. Retrieved May 2, 2009, from PowerSchool: https://ps.meridianschools.org/public/