Early Childhood Development Elementary - Free Essay Example

Technology is constantly evolving to improve human life whether it is for learning or improving ones everyday life. Integrating technology for classroom use is a great teaching tool for demonstrating mathematical concepts and improving on problem-solving skills. Today, most countries use some sort of technology in the classroom to teach subjects that are being taught. Combining gaming technology and teaching is an effective tool to get concepts across for students. The use of gaming technology in the classrooms to teach children mathematics in their early stages of life is somewhat of a controversial topic. Some say that it hinders a childs cognitive ability to solve mathematical problems efficiently as they rely heavily on the technological tool. Others will say that implementing technology with teaching can be a tremendous tool to use as all students learn in different ways. Combining gaming technology with teaching should be used for early childhood development as it motivates the student to be more engaged in learning the concepts being taught by the instructor and a better ability to recall the steps leading up to achieving the answer for a problem. The traditional way of teaching that involves a teacher lecturing about a concept and then asking the students to do problems is not always one hundred percent effective for each student in efficiently absorbing the material. Every single student learns differently from their peers. Interactive technology is a great instrument for teachers to use while teaching mathematical concepts to students. Including this tool with the conventional lecture is a great way to effectively teach students the concepts of mathematics and to better develop their ability at solving mathematical problems. Having interactive technology ensures that students are being focused on learning the material engaged in the process that is being taught. Both students and instructors benefit from a learning environment involving the use of gaming technology. When students are having a fun time learning then the student will be more engaged and willing to learn the material being taught. Having technology involved in the learning environment increases the quality and success of education. There was a study that was done involving game technology as a tool to teach arithmetic skills to second-grade students. In this study, there were two groups. One involved technology-based game while the other was a paper-based game for five weeks. At the end of this study, the group with using technology-based game outperformed that of those who did not use it. Students that played more frequently outperformed those that played it less frequently. Incorporating gaming technology has been met with mixed responses. Some researchers say that it is a distraction from actually learning the material, is a waste of time, or a tool to control behavior. A step into making gaming technology more understood with educators and adults that do not particularly understand this concept is to explain their value for education. Showing instructors and some adults how gaming technology can intertwine with learning can be beneficial for the students. Including this kind of technology into a classroom can benefit with a students ability to better the learn material being taught by the instructor and can motivate the student to want to learn. Conclusion In conclusion, integrating gaming technology into the classroom is a fantastic tool for motivating students into learning material taught by the instructor. Not only does it drastically improve a students arithmetic learning, but can also be very entertaining for the student. Incorporating any kind of technological learning tool at an early age is a very effective way to increase student participation and ability to retain the knowledge learned for the material being taught. It enhances the ability of students to learn more efficiently while having fun being taught the material.