Accessibility is Key by Emma

Accessibility is Key by Emma - January 2020 Scholarship Essay

I remember the first time there was a new piece of technology in my classrooms, that was in 4th grade, when they started using active boards. The active board I think has really changed the classroom experience because of all the uses it has. Since then, more technology has been added like computer carts, which last year turned into everyone in the school having their own personal school computer. Everyone having access to their own computer and having an office 365 account has changed the way our classrooms work. Between teachers using active boards to help improve their lessons and students having access to personal computers that they can take home; it has changed the environment in the classroom.
Active boards have improved how teachers can teach because of the accessibility they provide. The teacher can do everything online right in from of us and draw on the board which isn’t something they could do with a regular projector. This especially helps in a math class. With this technology, my math teachers have been able to create slides and do examples on the board. This really helps the teachers and the students because they don’t have to take their time writing out problems or trying to switch between colors when making graphs. The students, especially the visual learners, now have a better way to understand what the teacher is teaching. This helps in other classrooms as well, like science teachers also use it to show examples and experiments on the board. This helps to improve the learning experience for everyone in the classroom. Technology has changed the way teacher can get information to their students and it has effectively changed how they learn.
Another piece of technology that has changed the classroom experience is everyone having their own personal laptops. At first, they did seem like a pain because they are kind of heavy in backpacks, but it has totally been worth the hassle because of how often they are used. The computers are helpful because of the office 365 accounts that are provided which saves all work meaning students lose stuff less often, and also can find what they have been working on, on other computers. It also really helps with sharing projects between group members. The best part is how students can also receive quizzes online, and do assignments at home. This really helps with again with not losing assignments and making sure everything gets turned in, which seems very helpful for the teachers. This form of accessible technology to all students has changed how they learn in the classroom and how teachers teach and what excuses to accept. This has improved the life of the teachers and the students because of the ease of the personal computer, at home and at school.
I’m very happy that I got to grow up in a time period when all of these things were happening in the world of education. I have learned more than I probably would have because of having active boards in classrooms. Always having a computer on hand has helped me at home because I always have access to the internet and to the tools my teachers provide me. Technology in the classrooms can have its drawbacks because of internet problems we might face, but it’s always worth it because of the effortlessness it brings to the classroom.