Friday, January 13, 2012

Technology Integration in K12 Education in Taiwan and the United States

Taiwan has earned a reputation for being one of the leading countries with advanced technology industries. High tech gadgets and devices are affordably available all over the country. Technology has simply fascinated the population. But is this technology being integrated in the classrooms? Are high tech gadgets and computer based technology (Computer Based Technology) being harnessed effectively for classroom use?

In a study made by Yi-Wen Hung and Ying-Shao Hs of the National Taiwan University in 2007 entitled "Examining Teachers' CBT Use in the Classroom: A Study in Secondary schools in Taiwan", it was found out that most Taiwanese teachers are using computers a lot but mainly for accessing the internet, writing documents, sending emails but hardly for teaching related tasks except for grading.

Similarly, in the United States, a study made by National Center for Educational Statistics in 2009 revealed that while 97% of teachers surveyed have access to computers in the classroom, most of them (66%) use it for research.

There are teachers who even believe that students spend more time with high tech gadgets such as iPods, wii and ps3 which they believe are distracting their from traditional books.