Help me write an award winning essay on "The Digital Age Class Room"?

Question

Dear all,
I need your favor. Please help me write an essay on the digital age classroom. As we all know computers and technology can greatly increase the level of education! Please give me some points considering the following :

1)FORMAT

introduction
how can we implement computer in disseminating education.
hardware
importance in each subject
software
benefits to the school management
advantages
disadvantages and solution
conclusion

Here are few of the details :
solutions make it possible for you to realistically achieve your school’s vision for education, where students are more engaged, teachers are more interactive, administrators are more effective, technologists are more efficient, parents are more involved and communities are more aware. Technology was going to be the backbone of the new school, so it was essential that we partner with a technology corporation that had the understanding, knowledge, skill and service model to help us make our plan a reality.
The idea behind the Dell Connected Classroom is simple: through its ability to stimulate learning on multiple levels, technology can enhance the classroom experience for both teachers and students. And if we can inspire students to utilise technology to learn inside the classroom, we might be able to inspire them to use it for learning throughout their lives. By working closely with educators and partners, Dell has designed technology solutions that help propel students, teachers and schools to a higher level of performance.
Equip teachers and students of all ages with technology designed just for them.

The Latitude™ 2100 Net-book, is designed to meet the technology needs of students, and is suitable for any classroom environment.

We also offer a broad range of notebooks in the Latitude™ E Series family, powered by Intel® Core™2 Duo Processors, for more complex applications.

Ideal for teachers, the Latitude™ XT2 Tablet is an ultra-portable, high-performance device. With a Multi tech screen and pen, it allows for greater teacher-student interaction.
Using multimedia technology to provide visual, auditory and kinesthetic experiences, you can significantly increase your student’s understanding and retention of lessons.

Interactive whiteboards, projectors, and audio systems help teachers differentiate instructions for multiple learning styles, individualise lessons for each student’s needs, and encourage students to collaborate and communicate their ideas through technology.
Extend the classroom beyond its four walls. From any device, Dell can assist in providing anytime, anywhere access to rich content so students can commute from classroom to kitchen table.
Thanks to this seamless integration of technology into the classroom, students can now learn in ways that most interest them, giving them a vested interest in their learning experience. They are empowered to express themselves creatively and share their learning. And they have greater opportunities to explore the world around them, extending learning within and beyond the traditional classroom walls.

THESE DETAILS ARE BY ORGANIZERS , so i cant use it in essay but can just take an idea !

To know more about it please visit : http://delldigitalschoolathon.com


I will be greatly obliged if you help me! :) thans!

Answer 1

Over the past twenty years, information technology has transformed the society in which we live. It seems that, almost overnight, computers and the Internet have proliferated into every aspect of life, including how our youth is educated. “In most schools, blackboards and chalk have been replaced by interactive smart walls and pointers, while personal computers are nearly as important as a pencil and paper” (Ward). I can still remember when overhead projectors were considered “high-tech” and the chance to get to use a computer was almost non-existent in school, let alone directly in the classroom. Now students around the United States are learning through constructive applications of information technology directly in their classrooms, and in many cases, even having access to their own computers.



Technology is bringing in new ways of learning and giving the children of today new opportunities, but at the same time technology is widen the gap between different communities.



The resources in low-income communities can’t explain the technology gap alone. Society does not emphasis how important it is to supply equal distribution of technological equipment within the schools. Unlike families in the suburbs or higher income families, inner-city families are unable to purchases computers for their homes. The students that are enrolled in inner-city schools are deprived of computer education in the classroom, but in their homes as well.



The digital divide refers to the increasing disparity between poor and affluent families\' access to technology and the Internet. It has been well documented as a major issue threatening inner city communities. Community schools are ill-equipped to provide access to computers, technology education and the Internet for their students; fewer families in the neighborhood have home computers



As we advance into the information age, digital technology only continues to flourish and become progressively more fundamental in our lives. Computers are everywhere and more and more nearly everyone who works or wishes to contribute fully within American society is being expected to be computer literate, even just for everyday living. In the home people are using, and needing to know how to use computers for such a wide variety of tasks as shopping online, creating travel planes, research, instant messaging, banking, and paying bills. What was first a novel time-saver is now becoming a completely essential tool for an immense quantity of daily jobs not only in the home, but in a progressively more extensive array of workplaces. So why are our children being deprived of their right to get an education that that would only benefit .



Before computers are actually used in the classroom, teachers must buy into the concept that technology is useful. In order for teachers to buy that argument, they must first have some understanding of computers. Which many school teachers do lack to a great extent. In some corners, the need of computer usage in the classroom is blamed on the teacher, regardless of the fact that teachers are often not supported monetarily, educationally, and professionally in the successful integration of computers into their classrooms. Though, blaming the teacher will not help the situation. Teachers are willing, but they are not supported in their efforts. Budgets must reflect a larger share of money for teacher training than they currently do. So if computer usage is to succeed the teachers must be supported. A recent study of more than 10,000 mostly public school teachers was compiled with some pretty disturbing results.

Answer 2

I've been using computers to help my students for years now. Web 2.0 technology is ace as are the latest Learning Platforms that ar eon the market.

Answer 3

Background

Established in 1932 by Shri. M. V. Venkateshwaran, the South Indian Education Society (SIES) prides itself on its rich heritage. Based in Mumbai, SIES is one of the oldest educational societies in India and is known for its rich tradition of imparting education while inculcating the essenceof culture in its pupils.

The society, since then has successfully expanded its reach by establishing various institutions that have striven to achieve academic excellence. In the journey to achieve individual milestones and collective growth, SIES started with six ardent learners and today the SIES family has evolved with various educational institutions and is blessed with over 18,000 students under its wing.

The society has established a High school, an array of arts, science and commerce colleges, along with academic and professional institutions of higher learning.

Customer needs

The SIES High School, Matunga is a coeducational English medium school, known for its high academic standard, discipline and efficient management. The present strength of the SIES High School is 4400, with 600 students in Kindergarten,1300 students in Primary Classes and 2500 students in High School.



In accordance with its philosophy of imparting a “holistic education” to its students— as the principal of the school, Mrs Kalyani Arumugam puts it—the SIES High School was looking for ways to make the classroom teaching more effective. “You know some students learn better visually; some learn better the audio way,” she says. “An effective method should be able to address the needs of all students and carry them along,” she says.



Today, technology is available to make that happen. Further, the world is changing. It is becoming more technology-driven. Almost everything is being delivered through technology.



The school wanted to make the students comfortable with this new world, while making the education delivery more interesting, impactful and involved. “You know the CHSE and ICSE schools have students who may be using computers at home. As a state board school, we cater to economic strata where all students may not have access to that easily,” says Mrs Kalyani.



This prompted the school to look for a solution that goes beyond technology as an isolated experimentative plaything and make it part of the academic life of the students in a very involved manner. But the school was also very clear about one thing—getting the maximum value out of that technology investment. “Any vendor will provide us the building blocks; it is how we apply that to get the best out of it that matters,” says Mrs Kalyani.



To be able to do that, the solution should be robust, standardised and scalable. What’s more, it was looking at getting more than just the immediate requirement—a better experience for the students and teachers and more effective methods of classroom teaching delivery.

Ricoh’s solution

RICOH’s ClassTech™ perfectly fitted the customer requirement. It is a technology approach that takes a collaborative approach towards enabling an interactive learning environment for the students while allowing the school administration to easily manage the complete IT infrastructure.And its collaboration with HCL Learning that provides digital content makes the solution a complete end-to-end solution.



During the month of March 2015, SIES High School identified 47 classrooms for installation of ClassTech™. By June 2015, the solution was installed. The components of the solution are as follows.



Each of the 47 classrooms has been equipped with an Interactive Whiteboard, Multimedia Projector, CPU and Speakers. These classrooms are further connected to a centralised School Content Server located within the school premises.

The ClassTech™ interactive white board and the multimedia projector includes host of features to ensure absolute clarity in content projection and to further aid the teacher through various tools in enabling an interactive environment in the classroom.

The ClassTech™ digital content comprises of multiple learning nuggets which have been developed by academic experts and developers from HCL Learning. These learning nuggets are classified according to the respective grades such that they are easy to use for the teachers.

In order to ensure continued functioning of the installed IT infrastructure, the ClassTech™ includes a hardware maintenance workshop by Ricoh technical experts. Additionally, as part of the ClassTech™ solution, periodic IT literacy trainings are conducted for the school faculty to ensure effective usage of the solution.



“A complete solution along with a content, a content server that allows backend collaboration and support are extremely important,” says Mrs Kalyani. Also, for her do-most-with-whateveryou-invest-on philosophy is key. The standardised and scalable Ricoh solution scored on that front, according to her.

Client experience

Initially, the teachers were a little apprehensive. But post implementation and its regularisation since September 2015, the school has observed not just more student involvement, but the teachers also love it. Apart from the stated objective of more effective teaching delivery, the solution has helped in one more great way.

It has made the teachers far more productive. Earlier, teachers used to prepare on their own. “So, if there are five sections, and five teachers teaching one subject in those five sections, each of them had to prepare on their own. There was a lot of duplication of effort,” says Mrs Kalyani.



“Now, they do not do that. While one teacher does a thorough research on one chapter, another focuses on another chapter. And then, they share with each other using the central content server. It has made them collaborative and the quality of extra information really good,” says Mrs Kalyani.



She sounds extremely excited when describing this. Like a true academician she points out the quality of information and better knowledge sharing, but what it also means is that there’s a very clear improvement in teacher productivity.



“My message to those schools undertaking such a journey is simple: get platforms that are flexible and then get the most out of them. Think how you can use these solutions to do a bit extra than what you bought them for,” she says.

The results



The school administration has witnessed gradual improvement in the academic performance of the students in the ClassTech™ enabled classrooms of the school in comparison to the other classrooms.

As a proud beneficiary of the ClassTech™ solution SIES High Schoolgains access to unparalleled quality of products which are reliable and easy to use in the classroom.

The installation of technologies such as Interactive whiteboard and Multimedia projector enable the students to interact actively during the course of teaching-learning in the classroom.

The teachers are able to evaluate the students more effectively with the help of the various assessment tools inbuilt to the digital content.

Collaboration among teachers have gone up leading to better quality content and increase in their productivity.



For more information read: newsletter.ricoh.co.in