Elizabeth A. Johnson
The discussion around the use of technology in the classroom often centers on the need for college and career-ready skills. The Common Core State Standards and State-specific standards before them all included technological skills. Students use technology anyway. Classes require students to turn papers in online. Employers send their workers to conferences on how to compose emails more effectively. Some research is now only printed online, so online research skills are a must. With all these reasons and more, why do many teachers struggle to include technology into their classrooms?
The idea that technology makes a ninth-grader "career-ready" is not necessarily helpful to an educator struggling with a class. The idea that a state-test requires the use of a computer is hardly motivating. Therefore, I suggest that the reasons for using technology in the classroom should not be for outside, imposed rationales, but because they will help each child learn the material in a way that best suits his or her needs. This struggling ninth-grader should use technology because it engages and challenges the student.
There is research to show that computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is beneficial to struggling learners. A review of research from 1985 to 2001 showed that struggling students who were taught with CAI in reading and math instruction improved their test scores. According to researchers, "the average students who received CAI scored 14 percentile points higher than the average students who did not receive CAI" (Motoko, 2002). This research by Akiba Motoko in 2002 offered further reasons why CAI benefits struggling populations.
- CAI is non-judgmental and motivational.
- CAI gives frequent and immediate feedback.
- CAI can individualize learning through designs to meet students' needs.
- CAI allows for more student autonomy.
- CAI provides a multi-sensory learning environment, such as images, sounds, and symbols (Motoko, 2002).
In sum, CAI offers educators a way to reach students that typically fall behind.
