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Yes, while technology is extremely pervasive in our society, sometimes our students will still need that personal interaction

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yes, i believe a balanced classroom is what students need best to be able to learn.

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Yes I think teachers should balance technology and traditional classroom instructions because students have short attention spans. The students will get bored because the teacher is not balancing between technology and traditional classroom instructions.

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If teachers don't have that balance then they have lost the plot and authority. Students are so technologically dependent that there is no way to no include it.

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Technology is not meant to take away from a teachers job or to do their job for them. It's so easy for teachers to just show a movie or flip through a powerpoint. Technology is meant to enhance the lesson that is taught by the teacher.

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I think students need to see new forms of technology so they do not get bored easy. Students attention span does not last long, but teachers should balance between technology for sure.

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I feel like if you overdue using technology or the traditional style, then student will get bored of the repetition. Students need to exposed to as much of both as possible in order to keep them entertained.

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Technology is just as much a part of today's world as reading, writing, and arithmetic. To advance in higher education and the job market, students must be able to leverage a set of digital skills along with traditional subject area knowledge. In keeping with these trends, teachers are tasked with integrating technology into their classrooms. Here are a few tips for balancing technology and regular classroom instruction so that you can do your job more effectively and improve student outcomes.

Use the Right Tools

When used properly, technology can add value to the classroom. Andrew Marcinek at Edutopia says that many teachers find it helpful to use Google sites for keeping their students' portfolios organized and easy-to-access. By giving each student a Google Docs folder to upload their assignments, teachers have to worry less about keeping track of paperwork.

Enhance Traditional Modes of Learning
Prevent tech overload by using it as an adjunct to classroom instruction instead of the main focus. For instance, Janelle Cox with Teachhub.com suggests introducing students to videos, podcasts, or blogs that expand on information discussed during the lecture or in the textbook.

Develop Good Research Skills

The plethora of information available in the digital age can be overwhelming for students. Since information is merely at the fingertips of every student, teaching critical research skills is even more significant, according to Harris O'Hanlon with Education Week. Teachers can help students switch from passively absorbing online data to actively questioning and analyzing the information they take in. One great way to do this is teaching them to use the library databases to gather good quality references. It can also help to evaluate and compare the credibility of different virtual sources like blogs versus magazines versus peer-reviewed journal articles.

Technology promotes learning and engagement in the classroom, but too much can hinder students' ability to develop interpersonal communication. Cox recommends establishing tech-free periods when learning is facilitated through classroom discussions, group collaborations/presentations, or critical thinking exercises. These "unplugged" activities can help your students learn to brainstorm and problem-solve with one another without relying on technology.

Interested in learning more about teacher credentialing and what it takes to be a teacher in 2018? Contact Alliant International University today to begin your fulfilling career in education.

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Use vs. Overuse: Balancing Tech in the Classroom

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Technology is just as much a part of today's world as reading, writing, and arithmetic. To advance in higher education and the job market, students must be able to leverage a set of digital skills along with traditional subject area knowledge.

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I believe that we should progress and continue to move forward and use technology more, but I believe we do need to keep some elements of the traditional classroom.

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Teachers should maintain a balance of teaching with technology and teaching without. Some lessons just are not the same if you have to learn from an online resource. I believe that teachers should use both technology and traditional methods and not completely remove on because the students need exposure to educational technology. If you take one of these types of instructions out the classroom would not be well balanced and it would be hard to get all of the information across to your students.

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Education technology can be empowering for teachers and can give them tools to increase engagement and retention while imparting valuable skills to their students.

But teachers can depend much on technology at the expense of proven traditional teaching methods.

How can educators find a balance and use technology as an empowering tool and not a crutch?

Enabling Teachers with Training and Control

It's understandably tempting to go a little overboard when it comes to placing technology in the classroom and mandating its use by teachers.

But too much oversight over tech use can cripple a teacher's ability to craft his or her teaching style around the technology.

Train your teachers well but give them more control over the tablets, computers, and software they'll use. Let them shape technology to their teaching style, instead of basing their teaching style on the technology.

Allow Flexibility

Educational technology offers a lot of flexibility in the classroom. You can have a variety of hardware and software in schools that deliver a variety of capabilities to students and educators.

Take advantage of this flexibility. Some lessons are appropriate for technology; others aren't. Some lessons are best experienced on a computer; others need physical instruction.

Understand that technology can't do everything, and flexibility is the key to success.

Utilize One-to-One Computing

You can incorporate technology into a plan that works best for each student by using it to play to the needs and strengths of the student. This is best accomplished when every student has access to hardware through one-to-one computing.

You'll find that one-to-one computing helps you balance technology and traditional learning while giving control to your teachers and allowing for more flexibility. Limited resources help prevent flexibility and deprive teachers of control, so having ample hardware for students is a great benefit.

Technology shouldn't replace traditional methods; it should complement them. Work with your teachers to balance the two for the best outcomes.

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Balancing Education Technology and Traditional Teaching Methods - Virtucom

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Education technology can be empowering for teachers and can give them tools to increase engagement and retention while imparting valuable skills to their students. But teachers can depend much on technology at the expense of proven traditional teaching methods. How can educators find a balance and use technology as an empowering tool and not a crutch?

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I think teachers should have that balance. Maybe all students are not going to enjoy the use of technology in the classroom. This is a good way to have a equal balance in the classroom.

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Technology changes in today's classroom have changed how students learn to read and write. Forget taking notes with a pencil and notebook-today's students hardly know what a chalkboard looks like, and reading information on paper is rare. Instructors present notes via PowerPoint and students record their thoughts on laptops. Even the boards at the front of the classroom can be digital.

According to research from PBS, 90 percent of teachers have at least one computer or laptop in their classroom, while 60 percent have interactive whiteboards, and 35 percent have a tablet. Nearly 50 percent of teachers are using technology in their online lesson plans, while 45 percent use technology to give students access to web-based educational games or activities.

Technology is a driving force in classrooms, and most educators will agree that technology has made the lives of teachers and students more efficient. But does that efficiency come at a cost? Are today's generation of learners speaking, writing, typing and reading differently than those who came before them? The answer is yes-although despite some statistics, this might not be as bad as you think.

According to Psychology Today and many other sources, when we use technology it rewires the brain. Constant use of technology intended to help us learn can actually cause distractions and memory loss. Even more alarmingly, Student's First reports that 60% of all U.S. fourth graders today are not reading at their grade level. One theory is that this poor reading performance can be attributed to texting. Students send an average of 88 texts daily, causing them to become accustomed to auto-corrected spelling errors and shortcuts such as "LOL". Clearly, technology can negatively affect the learning of students.

But what about the opposite view-how technology has advanced the lives of learners? From giving them unlimited access to the knowledge of scholars, mathematicians and authors through the web, to offering apps and extensions that can give students a hands-on look at the world around them, tech isn't all bad. For many teachers, it's a question of balance.

"There are so many things available to us in the technology. We're using it for every lesson," said teacher Shannon Baca at Walter White Elementary in Ceres, CA. "It's still very important to have the writing. We don't want to lose that skill," Baca said. "It's a learning curve. It's a balance of using tech effectively while still fostering skills essential to life, like writing and reading."

Many Google Chrome extensions, for example, help teachers use tech as a positive tool to progress learning within the classroom. allows teachers to track students' reading online. Students can get recognition and credit for their independent reading in 60 categories. Google Classroom lets teachers distribute assignments and monitor students, while Google Expeditions takes students inside virtual field trips and works as a tool for teachers to give students feedback.

With the use of apps like those, the benefits of tech can far outweigh the negatives. In fact, there is substantial evidence that the use of technology in education can help students succeed. For example, from Engadget on the use of iPads in education showed that kindergarteners with access to iPads during the school day "scored much higher on literacy tests than students that didn't use the device." Another study from Secure Edge Networks on knowledge retention showed that students who were asked to give a presentation on something they were taught were more likely to retain that information.

The positive impact of technology hasn't only been seen in literacy, though. A 2004 study on Education.com found " a statistically significant increase in math achievement scores when students used digital video," while others "[suggest] that technology can have a positive impact on the self-esteem of students, especially for at-risk students with low self-esteem and self-confidence."

Technology will only continue its reach into education and classrooms. While it's undeniable that the addictive behaviors and shortcuts that can come with technology can be harmful, when used as a tool to further advance learning and paired with teaching essential life skills, technology can do a lot of good.

For more, see:

Kate Durocher is a manager for . Follow her on Twitter: Red Cup Agency @katedurocher11.
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The Importance of Balancing Classroom Technology Use

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Technology changes in today's classroom have changed how students learn to read and write. Forget taking notes with a pencil and notebook-today's students hardly know what a chalkboard looks like, and reading information on paper is rare. Instructors present notes via PowerPoint and students record their thoughts on laptops.

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Should teachers keep a balance between technology and traditional classroom instruction?