Frances Starkey
digital iowa staff reporter
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa– The age of technology is a mystery to few; even children in Iowa kindergartens are working on computers. What Generation Xers once thought of as technologically advanced doesn't exist, like "Logo" and "The Oregon Trail," to grade school students.

In elementary schools across Iowa, there are few classrooms that don't have at least one computer. The computer is stocked with practically every kind of program useful to children of that age. Microsoft Works, Writing & More, Math Sequences, Stories & More, Empower (power point presentations), School Vista Math I and II, Reader Rabbit and Touch Typing are all programs students start using in kindergarten and are proficient in by the time they head off to middle school.

"We're seeing more and more technology used as a teaching tool," said Eunice Merideth, education professor at Drake University. Merideth teaches a class in advanced technology for undergraduates and technology courses in graduate school. "Since 1994 there has been a large push in the state of Iowa to get Internet access in every classroom."

To prepare teachers for the advanced technology in classrooms today, Merideth said students learning at Drake must take technology courses and become proficient in the programs young students are using.

"We're not just preparing students for tomorrow," Merideth said. "We're preparing them for the future. Teachers don't just need to know the programs, they need to not be afraid of the advancing technology. They need to grow with the students as the technology improves."

In fact, Drake is part of a pilot program with IBM and the West Des Moines school district. Through this program, Drake, IBM and the school district are trying to create a "technological environment," Merideth said. "It's an umbrella program that would have everything a student might ever need." Merideth said the program is going to start at the high school level and if it is successful, the school district will begin implementing it in the curriculum at all grade levels.

"We want to create a learning village," Merideth said.

John O'Connell, consultant for instructional technology for the Department of Education for Iowa, said education students in college, including Drake University, are not sufficiently being prepared for teaching in today's technological classroom. "College students aren't being pushed. They're only required to take a three-credit course in technology," O'Connell said. "[Education students] should be practicing time and time again what they want their students to do. When you first graduate, your first instinct is fear. Colleges are changing, though."

An advantage to the ever-growing technology in grade school classrooms, Merideth said, is that students can learn at their own pace. "Computers don't get impatient with special education students who might not be as fast as other children," she said.

O'Connell said he thinks not enough technology is being used in schools today. "Basically, right now the potential for technology within most of our schools is at marginal levels," O'Connell said. "It's like we're driving a car in first gear. We're moving, but not very fast. … We're getting there; but what exists now is at [early] stages. We need 24-seven access to keep students growing. Schools will become more than brick and water. Students should be able to get an education whenever they need it."

O'Connell said he thinks technology hasn't been utilized to its fullest extent because teachers and those in the education field are afraid of losing control. "It is frightening when you don't have full control of your class," he said.

Although it is useful to have access to the Internet in the classroom, some say advanced technology is unnecessary for grade school.

"It's wonderful that they have that access," said Del Brink, library media specialist for several Des Moines elementary schools, "but I'm not sure it improves students' performance as far as the basics are concerned. It makes learning more fun. It's a new way to look at learning. But I'm not sure if we're going to be able to … justify spending all this money on technology. It's the teaching style and class size that improves performance. At least that's the discussion the education system is getting into right now."

Meredith said statistical data doesn't support either a classroom teacher or a technology teacher as better, but said both are valuable. "There is no statistical difference between technology teachers and an in-class teacher," Merideth said. "Students want a teacher in the classroom, but there are advantages to technology. If a student misses a class, they can use software to catch up."

How necessary is technology in the classroom? Those in the education field tend to disagree on the answer.

"A teacher has to take [his or her] classroom and individual student's needs into account," Merideth said. "There are times when a technology-based lesson is absolutely necessary. The teacher just has to keep in mind what the goal is of the information being taught."

O'Connell said he thinks technology is incredibly necessary in today's classrooms. "The whole purpose of education is to improve student learning," he said. "Technology allows students to learn skills faster. Basically, my vision is that if given the chance, technology, if it's utilized as a tool, could change education as we know it."

Some students entering elementary school have already used today's technology. "[Students] live in a technology-rich environment; it's part of their lives," Merideth said. "To say they don't need it is to deny them. Teachers also need to teach them to be social, though, too. Putting them into groups so they talk to each other is important. Technology is just one way to teach, not the only way."

What does the future hold for technology in the classroom? Most tend to think classrooms will get more advanced technologically despite how necessary it might be.

"I can see that with the increasing computer speed, we will have more multi-media programs," Merideth said. "[Students] will have different ways to express what they've learned. It's up to the teacher to make what the children have learned relevant."

No matter what, though, Merideth and O'Connell agree that technology encourages students to be the best they can be.

"Technology creates an environment where students can be the best they can be," Merideth said. "Technology has created a different kind of learning, one that can't be measured on the same stick as in-class learning."

"Technology lets students learn to the best of their ability," O'Connell said. "They won't all be Einsteins, but the best they can be. That's the power of technology."