Technology and my culture By: Sana Ali

1. Why you chose this particular example instead of all the others out there.

1.1. I chose this particular example because technology is advancing everyday and since education is a very important thing I feel like technology plays a very important role and the increase use of laptops and tablets across schools has greatly impact students and classrooms positively.

1.1.1. Firstly, studies have shown that the use of the iPad has greatly improved communication skills between colleagues and teachers. According to this article, "Anne Laure Bazin (Assistant Head Teacher at Mounts Bay Academy in Cornwall) works in a school where every child, teacher and teaching assistant is given a free iPad to use in and out of lessons. For her, the main advantage of everyone having an iPad has been the improvement in communication."(bbcactive,n.a.) This shows an advantage of the use of a iPad.

1.1.2. Secondly, the use of iPads and laptops have greatly impacted students and their performance with their subjects. According to the article, "Anne Laure says “The pupils learn more efficiently with the iPad as they get instant feedback. In the past, they would do their homework and then submit it and a few days later I would give it back and we would go over it. This time delay means that they have often forgotten what they have written or why they chose to write it like that. With the iPad they can receive immediate feedback from interactive tools and quizzes which means they find out straight away if they have got something right. Using online dictionaries means they are able to check their work before they submit it. It doesn’t do the work for them, it helps them to work it out for themselves.”"(bbcactive,n.a.) This shows how the use of technology in classrooms help the performance of students.

1.1.3. Thirdly, laptops and tablets can be taken anywhere any time because of it's light weight it is portable and very easy for students to carry everyday to school. According to the article, "Taking notes during class The iPad is portable and easy to carry around with books making it the ideal tool to take notes and store all of a teacher’s lecture material"(bbcactive,n.a.) With laptops and tablets so portable and lightweight this makes it perfect for easy access.

2. Why this is relevant and important to you?

2.1. This is relevant to me because, as a post secondary student, the use of laptops and tablets have been increasing in use these past few years. I feel that technology has been advancing even more and is being replaced by major things.

3. How this would have been done differently if the technology had not existed

3.1. I feel like this would have been done differently if iPads and laptops didn't exist by sticking to projectors, chalkboards, whiteboards and paper. I feel like there would be more difficulty in communication and disorganized with papers everywhere. The technology has helped greatly.

4. Creativity

4.1. I chose a mind map for this discussion because I feel like it would be easier to branch out my thoughts and ideas for this topic. By choosing a mind map it helped me organize my thoughts and my placing it in a way that is presentable.

5. Description of my culture & society

5.1. My name is Sana Ali and I was born in Ontario, Canada. I've lived in Toronto for 14 years and moved to Brampton recently 4 years ago. Technology is a huge part of me and my daily life and I feel like it plays a major role in my education. All my siblings and parents use technology every day just for school use. With the various features built in, technology makes it very easy and simple to get the hang of it.Through out the years, technology has changed and advanced schools etc. extensively for the better.

6. An example of the specific technology, website, or software app and the incident that you chose

6.1. I'll be focusing on the education part of this discussion. A specific technology I feel that has played a role in my local society is the usage of tablets and laptops at school. Ever since, tablets and laptops (netbooks) etc. have been part of the school's education studies have shown great improvement in students. In today's society, having either a laptop or a tablet is a must to have when you have school. This is because, mostly classes online have assignments and homework posted online, online classes etc. Teachers have been communicating only through via e-mails only, submitting assignments online and getting graded online too. Back when technology wasn't a major asset in education things were very different and everything was written on paper. This goes to show how technology has greatly impacted and improved the education system in my local society.

7. How this is related to your culture or society?

7.1. I feel like this is related to my society because, I've lived in Canada all my life and I was at school when there wasn't any technology around like tablets or laptops. But now that things have changed and advanced greatly, the use of technology became greatly used because my family uses it all the time for their education. Nothing can be done without the use of technology. When I was in elementary school I did not use technology but now there are various options for classrooms for different types of learning. The tablet has various apps that help students improve their learning styles and their understanding with visuals. According to the article, "The iPad in the classroom brings education to life. Children have endless access to valuable information such as a dictionary and thesaurus, which previously were only available in printed format. Interactive technology makes learning more engaging and memorable. Tools such as audio and video recorders can change the way that learning takes place and homework is completed.(bbcactive,n.a.) It explains how technology made a difference in the lives of children and how it brings education to life with creativity.

8. References

8.1. Ipads in the Classroom(n.d.) BBC Active. Retrieved February 28, 2016 http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/iPadsintheClassroom.aspx