According to the U.S. Department of Education, students who use technology in the classroom have better attendance rates and lower dropout rates. There is evidence that an increasing number of students today are different from the generation that preceded them. They learn differently, and they are not inclined to respond enthusiastically to a "business-as-usual" approach to learning. Our students today are learning all the time, in what they call "real time," using resources that many older people are uncomfortable and/or unfamiliar with: podcasting, blogging, social learning networks, video games, virtual worlds, Facetime, Instagram, mobile media such as cell phones. Students today process information and communicate with one another 24/7 with advanced technological platforms that are inexpensive and provide worldwide access.
Technology challenges students to perform better, engages them in the topic being taught, and enables them to work more independently. This independent work gives students a greater sense of responsibility for the work they are doing.
Technology also changes the way we teach by offering effective ways to reach different types of learners an assess student understanding through multiple means. Technology enhances the communication between our teachers and their students. Technology helps make teaching and learning more meaningful and fun.
It is for these reasons that Bishop Noland Episcopal Day School introduced, Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), to our middle school students. Students are able to access many textbooks and resources on line. We welcome all students to join us as we embrace the many educational benefits where knowledge is open, collaborative, accessible, often the bottom up, and frequently presented in multimedia.