Technology Helping Today's Students and Teachers

Since the turn of the century, technology has changed just about every aspect of life. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the increasing rate of cellular phone subscribers.

According to CTIA-The Wireless Association(R), an international nonprofit representing the wireless communications industry, cell phone subscribers totaled a little more than 86 million in 1999. By 2008, that figured had ballooned to more than 262 million, a staggering increase in such a short period of time.

The growth of cell phone subscribers is indicative of the growing reliance the world has placed on technology. Few people can envision the world before cell phones were so prevalent, even though such was the case as recently as 15 years ago.

While some scoff at society's apparent dependence on technology, technology has paid innumerable dividends in many areas of life, including the classroom. Students can now access more information much more quickly than their mothers and fathers could when they were students. Such readily available access has helped students and educators in a number of ways.

* Interactive Web sites can help kids better understand coursework. The Internet has both its advantages and disadvantages with respect to kids. One clear benefit is the use of interactive Web sites to help children learn. For example, children can now visit a Web site, read a story for class and then answer questions pertaining to what they just read. When done with a given quiz or questionnaire, kids are then shown how they fared. In many cases, these post-quiz breakdowns show kids which questions they answered right and which they answered incorrectly.

Such interaction allows information to sink in instantly, as opposed to waiting until the next day in class when the materials are discussed. Interactive Web sites are available for most subjects, including math and spelling.

* Technology has helped improve the lines of communication between students and teachers. Thanks to e-mail, today's educators are more accessible than ever before. This is especially important when considering today's kids tend to be busier than ever before, with school and social commitments often making it difficult for students to meet with their teachers for one-on-one instruction. With e-mail, however, today's students can e-mail their professors whenever a question or issue regarding their study arises. In many cases, e-mail access has improved the line of communication between student and teacher, especially among students who might be too shy to ask a question in the classroom.

* Technology has improved kids' comfort level. Many moms and dads marvel at their kids' ability to adapt to computers. But today's kids are not all natural born computer whizzes. Instead, they merely grew up with the technology and therefore find it more natural to work with. This has helped improve children's comfort level in the modern classroom, where computers have become increasingly prevalent. Nowadays, many kids are familiar, or at the very least acquainted, with computers before they enter kindergarten. As a result, once they do begin school and see computers in the classroom they're less likely to be intimidated and more likely to feel right at home.

CAPTION: Access to technology has made it easier for educators and students alike.

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