Why+technology+is+important+in+the+classroom

FOSTERING STUDENTS' VOICES BY ENHANCING CLASSROOMS WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY [[image:cool-cartoon-319039.png]]
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Web 2.0 provides students the opportunity to communicate, create, and collaborate on authentic learning tasks. This can include, but isn't limited to, active or passive participation, knowledge, voting, wisdom, activism, beliefs, service, opinions, leadership, and ideas. - **(2006). SoundOut Student Voice Tip Sheet.http://www.soundout.org/definition.html media type="custom" key="5266129"**

The role of information technology leads to new ways of teaching, learning, and assessing. However, the presence of information technology alone will not produce this transformation. Effective interaction with information technology provides students with opportunities to: • utilize the rich, interactive capabilities of information technology, providing experiences traditionally unavailable within the school • ask questions, identify problems, and seek multiple solutions to problems • progress at their own rate and gain access to necessary learning resources • work together, where the emphasis is on teamwork and critical and creative thinking • act as peer tutors, helping classmates work through problems and challenges • take responsibility for their own learning and strive to reach high expectations.

In an information technology-enhanced classroom, the teacher’s role is that of a facilitator, rather than expert. As facilitators, teachers: • assist students as they navigate through the information made available byinformation technology and other sources • direct students as they gather, organize, analyze, and present their findings • help students develop, focus, refine, consolidate, and extend their abilitiesInformation technology-enhanced classrooms provide teachers with additional resources and/or modes of delivery to differentiate instruction. http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/tfs/pdfed_tech.pdf

For an overview of strategies for differentiating instruction, see Manitoba Educationand Training. Success for All Learners: A Handbook on Differentiating Instruction: A Resource for Kindergarten to Senior 4 Schools. Renewing Education: NewDirections series. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Education and Training,