Technology can be used to improve the experience that students have in the classroom, and technology can be used to make the teaching of instructors better too. Technology should not be used as a replacement for anything in the classroom, but it can be used to enhance and support instruction and practice. As there is both assistive and augmentative communication, for people with disabilities. In the case of someone with severe disabilities, they may need assistive communication; a replacement for their own modes of communication that are more comprehensible for others. Or, someone with less severe disabilities may simply use augmentative communication, which takes the students’ original method of communication and makes it more, or ‘louder’. In a general or special education capacity, technology should be used in an augmentative way, making the lessons and practices inside the classroom stronger and/or more potent.
One of the disadvantages of technology in the classroom is the availability of computers and technology. Classrooms often do not have enough computers to go around for all students, and many students don’t have access to computers or the internet from home. Despite the unavailability of technology, students and whole classes can still benefit from its use.
Teachers can use technology in presenting new information, reviewing old information, and even making assessments. Students can also use technology to further their learning. Students can research, organize, and share their thinking with each other, parents, and teachers. In using technology the way it’s meant to be used, students develop and practice real world skills.
