Although Some Still Hesitant, Many Teachers Excited About Online Learning

More teachers are seeing technology in a new light or so say teacher videos submitted to the New York Times. The New York Times and its Learning Network site recently asked teachers to submit videos "describing how technology had changed their classroom." The submissions and accompanying comments were overwhelming. The majority of teachers who participated described increased student focus and advanced achievement. One of the participants, North Carolina teacher Megan Taber went as far as to call technology in her classroom (her students use iPod Touches for every class) a "vital resource." Many teachers also reported becoming more aware of the importance of technology since its implementation in their classrooms.

The NYT project has helped to show critics just how important and revolutionary technology has become in terms of education. The video respondents, reported the New York Times, were not all ready to forgo the traditional classroom completely, but they were willing to note how effective, useful and positive technology has been for their teaching methods and connection with students.

What the majority of the responding teachers found most beneficial about classroom technology and outside technology was the way it allowed students to interact and collaborate in so many different ways. Blogs, social networks and other websites like Skype have allowed students and teachers alike to transcend traditional learning barriers. The sites also help students engage in course material and discussion outside of the classroom.

Advanced technology in classrooms is also helping educators rethink some of "education's traditional dogmas," namely 6-hour school days with allotted class times. With technology, educators and administrators can "push the envelope." For Megan Taber, old ways have given way to new and she wouldn't want it any other way. Taber's opening exercise is to write a question on the previous day's reading on the blackboard. Traditionally, students have written a response in their notebooks and Taber would periodically collect the work. Now, with a classroom full of iPod Touches, Taber's students submit their answers instantly. Taber receives the responses directly to a spreadsheet on her computer and responds to their work almost instantaneously. Taber is one of the many teachers who can't say enough about the benefits of technology in their classroom and the ways in which it helps improve the "way you teach" and the way students learn.