Can Technology Help Elementary Age School Students?

(In response to Annika's very valid comment regarding parent trepidation over the use of technology in elementary schools, and as a result of conversations during last night's Council meeting - please feel free to comment. Dialogue is welcomed.)

Written by SkyeDanzer, for Associated Content Op Ed. (Here's the link to the article online.)

Did you know they have special keyboards just for elementary and younger age children with color, picture and letter keys? Ipods, DVD players, CD players, laptops and more are part of technology today. We are surrounded by technology on a daily basis. Educational software is a booming business. But does great technology in elementary school benefit children?

First, let me say that anything to the extreme is unhealthy. Let's look at keyboard skills. Children are sponges. Some say that keyboard skills can be developed at the elementary school age or younger. Sure it can be learned but it is much more difficult at this age. Kids don't have the fine motor skills needed for keyboarding. They are still learning letters, words and language basics. Then to have the eye and hand coordination it takes to start learning keyboarding can be complex as well. The greatest benefit to keyboarding is to simply get them used to a keyboard. The other skills are learned much easier at a middle school age.

Pre-kindergarten and elementary school educational software has many advantages. Parents that are out of ideas of how to teach some of the basics can use these programs to help at home. They don't save time because the parent needs to sit at the program and help the child do the work of the program. But then again, they do teach quite a bit. Having invested the money in the programs the parents are more likely to stick to them and to use them with the children.

The use of DVDs and CDs is very beneficial in the classroom. There are many things that elementary children can learn through listening and viewing that they wouldn't get from other classroom activities. Hooked on phonics is a great example of how technology can benefit elementary school students. Many languages are learned at this age if the children can hear and/or see the language being used. Playing a DVD in the classroom that is entertaining but in a foreign language will develop language skills more quickly.