How And When to Implement a Technology Change Throughout Your School

If you’re wondering how and when to implement a technology change throughout your school, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll help you figure out novel ways to help introduce emerging technology in education that can support both teachers and students.

Remember the good old days when a whiteboard was the go-to medium to pass knowledge, and writing with ink was all we knew? The computer labs were typically the sole sources of technology schools had to offer.

But these days, schools are replete with many examples of technology in the classroom. Students today use word processors to complete assignments, do their research on the internet, attend lectures online, and use tablets and laptops to assist them in their educational endeavors in a variety of other ways.

So what’s keeping all educational institutes from hopping on the tech bandwagon?

Technology Roadblocks

Now is not the time to second guess bringing new technology into schools. However, many school administrators don’t see the advantages or feel the need to implement these kinds of changes.

They are either afraid of the changes that might entail, worried about the resulting budgetary constraints, or don’t know how to find qualified staff that can handle the new advanced teaching tools.

Having slow PCs, depending on conventional in-house servers, taking paper-based tests instead of eco-friendly computer-based testing can lead to roadblocks. They can only be surpassed with the right set of tools and integration practices.

Ways To Integrate Technology In The Classroom

Classrooms nowadays are more focused on enhancing student engagement by focusing on the four C’s — communication, creativity, creative thinking, and collaboration.

There are multitudes of ways to integrate technology in the classroom, that can also target these same criteria. For instance:

• Chromebooks for reading—ultimately replacing textbooks
• Better furniture to facilitate team-based exercises and collaboration
• Multiple presentations so students can view slides on their laptops, tablets, phones, or on the board – promising, especially for people with visual or hearing impairments
• Printers made available on campus
• Making coursework accessible to students at any time from the school’s LMS
• Access to a digital library or certain parts of the internet

While it might be difficult to see with a first glance, these implementation suggestions can lead to tons of benefits for students who are growing up in a tech-based world.

Benefits Of Introducing Technology In Education

Here are some of the benefits and examples of technology in the classroom:

• Virtual tutoring, apps, online quizzes, e-books, learning games, brain-teasers, etc. help teachers in reaching out to all students on a broader level.
• Allowing internet usage in the class helps students to understand things better — a quick Google search and fishing out information from the right source broadens their horizons.
• Cutting costs on paper and pens is now possible by using digital devices such as laptops and tablets.
• Teachers can provide more on-point support to students.
• Online submissions are now possible.
• Plagiarism checks are put in place to ensure the authenticity of submitted work, etc.

What’s The Next Step

Not sure how your faculty or students may handle change? Are you concerned about what it’ll cost you? Do you want to know more about how to implement technology in the classroom?

Computer Resources of America is here to help, implementing the most appropriate technologies for your educational institutions. We can also design your IT infrastructure, provide you with cloud solutions, and find the right staff for your growing IT needs.

For more information on implementing school technology, check out the services we offer and let us know how we can be of assistance.