Before we start this discussion I encourage you to take time to review this YouTube video that talks about how to use technology to meet the diverse needs of all the learners in your class.
I think that this video explains this topic really well. Technology has allowed for an increase in meeting the diverse needs of every child that happens to be inside a classroom. Prior to this, our classrooms were teacher-centered which meant that the students were learning what and how the teachers wanted the students to know. Now, education is moving towards becoming student-centered which allows the students to get the education they need at the level that they are at. In this classroom for example, the teacher starts off the math lesson with a whole-group lesson to make sure that the students are understanding the concept enough to practice it on their own when they break into individualized practice on the computers. Once the students have practiced and worked with the math concept that has been taught that day they can move on to working on math at the pace that helps to support their current academic level. This allows each student to get the support that they need while having fun and it allows the teacher to pull small groups or individuals for more specific instruction. In this video, the teacher also talked about how he got the technology for all the students in his class which is almost as important as having a student-centered learning environment. Without the technology this teacher would not be able to have this amount of accessibility to a more student-centered approach. It is important to integrate technology into the classroom especially when it allows the teacher to specialize instruction so that the students are getting the support they need to succeed on their own time frame.
