Pioneer Elementary Computer Lab
My goals and philosophies
By Terrie Redkey
Technology, students, computers, careers, integration, standards, proficiency, and
future success. As we talk about computers in our school, all of these words come to
mind. The question is how do they all fit together. It is a well-established concept that
computers and technology are here to stay. I, along with many others, believe that for
our children to be successful in the future, they must be computer literate. In the
computer lab at Pioneer Elementary, I am striving to teach our students not only
computer skills but also, how these skills will be necessary to their futures. Computers
will continue to be an integral part of not only the work place but the home as well. Our
children must be prepared.
In our rapidly changing technological environment, students will need to be
computer literate. This will be a life long learning adventure. This adventure should
begin at the elementary school level and should continue through high school, college
and throughout their careers. Basic skills in keyboarding, word processing, graphics
manipulation, multimedia presenting, and information processing should all begin at the
elementary school level. With so much to learn, it is important that basic knowledge of
these skills is acquired here. In the Pioneer Computer lab, I teach these skills while
integrating the regular classroom curriculum into the lab. By integrating subjects that are
being covered in the classroom, relevancy is added to the use of technology while
classroom standards are being reinforced. It is important for the students to learn creative
ways to express their ideas with the computer while demonstrating their academic
performance. In the future, I would like to see letter grades issued in the computer lab. I
feel technology should be emphasized as an important subject.
I have heard many people say that technology should not be a separate subject,
that it should be fully integrated in each classroom. I couldn’t agree more however, the
need for a computer lab on every school campus is still very important. Most classrooms
are only equipped with a few computers. It is impossible for individual teachers to teach
technology skills to a class of 20 or 30 students if there are only a few computers in the
room. Computer skills and effective use of application programs should be taught in the
computer lab. With these skills acquired, the teacher may then require the use of
computers in classroom assignments. The use of a math program, for example, is easily
used in the classroom if the student has previously been taught how to use the program in
the lab. Likewise, the use of a word-processing or multimedia program can be
successfully used in the regular classroom if the skills have already been acquired in the
lab. A teacher does not have time to spend showing a student how to use a program as 25
others wait for their turn. The purpose of the computer lab is to teach students to become
creative, confident, independent users of technology with the ability to utilize these skills
in different areas such as at home, in the classroom and in the community.
Before successfully integrating technology into the regular classrooms teachers
must also be taught the same skills as the students and they must also have the knowledge
of how the application programs are used. I would like to see more staff development in
technology. I would willingly teach computer skills to the teaching staff through a series
of in-service sessions. I have already spent one on one time with teachers, demonstrating
ways that they might integrate technology into their classrooms. With increased
knowledge, through in-service workshops, the teachers could more successfully utilize
the computers in their rooms.
In the future, I would like to see all of the computers on campus being used to the
fullest extent. Daily use of technology at school will emphasis the importance of
computer literacy as well as demonstrate their continued use through higher grades and
into careers. Technology skills, for our children, will not be an option; it will be a
mandate. The future reality of the Digital Divide will depend on the emphasis of
technology in our schools today.