Educational use of Information Technologies Essay

Educational use of Information Technologies - Essay Example The advent of computers has brought sweeping changes to the way children nationwide are learning. In classrooms across the country, todays first-graders do their addition problems behind a computer screen and middle-school students conduct research via the Internet, rather than the local libraries. The addition of technology in the classroom exposes children to computers and gives them a basic understanding of their use, but few teachers use technology to its full potential, leaving students and society at a disadvantage. Although technological advances make teaching and learning easier, a greater effort needs to be made to prepare youths for the intellectually-driven jobs of the future. Job availability in the information services sector is expected to grow by 11.6 percent by 2014, creating an estimated 364,000 jobs for those well-trained in the field of technology (U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook, 2003, paragraph 22). As well, the nation is expected to see growth in the "soft skills" job sector, such as customer service positions, which requires a workforce with good math, written communication and problem-solving skills (U.S. Department of Labor 21st Century Workforce Initiative, 2004, paragraph 3). Just as the characteristics of the American classroom have evolved over the past few decades, the American workforce is also seeing a shift from manual, factory jobs to intellectually-driven service jobs. As technology continues to change and improve lives in todays global community, it is crucial that the American educational system keep pace by implementing technological advances in the classroom to improve the academic performance of students and ensu re that our nations youths are prepared when they enter the ever-evolving and expanding U.S. job market. In response to growing concern nationwide about the poor academic performance of the countrys schoolchildren, President George