Technology and Classroom Management

      In education, technology has let students take advantage of their time to start working on their tasks and create wonderful projects for a class. Nevertheless, teachers must be aware of the effects of technology in their classrooms, which is to manage each activity in one class with their students. Therefore, classroom management is very important in educational technology because it can have advantages and disadvantages as well. We will be exploring only the positive aspects about classroom management as well as its solution and how teachers can improve their classes constantly.

   
    When technology evolves, learning evolves as well (Everston and Weinstein, 2006). Students are now using web tools, web pages, and online softwares to create presentations for class. Likewise, there are computers in every school. In fact, attending an online school, rather than a traditional classroom, may become the new habit for students to start being original, creative, and motivated to perform activites on the Internet. Conversely, teachers still have very present students to manage and guide as they integrate technology into their classrooms. Education technology has the flexibility to accommodate a variety of learning styles and abilities. However, with the learning benefits of technology, new challenges arise for managing the classroom. The greatest of these is allowing students to take advantage of the exploratory mode of learning technology encourages while keeping the class productively on-task.

     

        Firstly, beyond ensuring that our students are actively learning or creating to meet certain goals or objectives, the key with technology is making sure that our technology use is organized, and that we are ready and prepared to use it (Marcinek, 2014). Likewise, as we all know too well, technology will sometimes present a minor glitch. That is why it is always important to have Plan B ready to go, possibly an analog version of our scheduled activity, in order to keep the pace of the class and keep the lesson on task (Doyle, 2006). That is one of the first steps in successfully integrating technology into our classroom: have a backup plan ready.

        On the other hand, bringing technology up into classroom management can be very beneficial for our students and ourselves as well. For instance, Face Time and Skype are becoming very popular to educate learners because it allows teachers and students to connect with one another to share ideas and collaborate on projects. Additionally, they have the opportunity to interact with students around the world in many significant ways. Therefore, connecting with students in foreign countries is a great way to learn about other cultures. In fact, we can have students take time before the call to think up their own questions or conversation topics. 

        Secondly, when students are working on small group technology projects on classroom computers, we should divide the tasks so some students are working on the computers while others are working at their desks on another part of the project. Likewise, we have to provide a sign-up sheet for the computers. When one group is finished using the computers, they must notify the next group that it is their turn. Having each student keep an electronic portfolio is another way of managing a class effectively because they can use it for storing ongoing technology projects, ideas for future projects, worksheets, and other tasks. It is a real time saver when students are heading for the tech lab.

      Thirdly, another aspect I consider in a tech-class is to set up teams of computer helpers, and assign each team a different room in an institution. Each week, students must clean their assigned rooms, keeping the computers dust free and the monitors clean. Additionally, we can have students turn on each computers before class. We as teachers have a very needy special education student who presses the Enter key on all lab computers so the computers go on the network.

       Lastly, effective classroom management must be aligned with instructional goals and activities. Brophy (2006) noted that when teachers identify what good student behavior looks like, they can work backwards from desired outcomes to determine which management systems will be most effective. Examples of these behavioral outcomes include arriving in class and being in one’s seat on time, being prepared for a lesson, paying attention, volunteering information and responding to questions, as well as completing assignments. Accepted behaviors may vary for different classroom organizational systems. Therefore, classroom management strategies need to be adapted for unique contexts and environments that emerge in typical classrooms.

       In conclusion, the key to quality classroom management is to have a plan to ensure that technology integration is consistent, clear, and supports the learning objectives and goals. According to Martinek (2014), we should make sure that our class time includes an active learning and creating moment that will increase and empower student engagement. In that way, educators can put steps in place to improve a digital class activity. If we are aware of the rules we must follow in order to create a peaceful classroom environment, managing a classroom with technological equipment should be a great experience.


References

Brophy, J. (2006).  History of research on classroom management.  In C. M. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management:  Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 17-43).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Doyle, W. (2006). Ecological approaches to classroom management.  In C. Evertson and C. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 97-125).  New York: Erlbaum.

Evertson, C. M., & Weinstein, C. S.  (2006).  Classroom management as a field of inquiry.  In C. M. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 3-16).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Marcinek, A. (2014). Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-management-tech-equipped-classroom-andrew-marcinek