Technology in the Classroom: Why and How Scanners Are Beneficial

Using a scanner is a simple, convenient way for an educator to integrate technology in the classroom. A scanner allows the teacher to incorporate various forms of media, such as maps, photographs, and newspaper clippings into the curriculum. The teacher could take a full-size map, scan it, shrink it, and paste it into a Word document, printing out a small copy for each student. Teachers can also scan old photographs, perhaps for a Social Studies lesson, and put them into a Power Point presentation. Any paper documents can be scanned. Teachers could scan student work, like paintings or posters, and upload them to a server. The children's artwork could be displayed on the school webpage for all to see.

Additionally, teachers could scan worksheets or important passages from textbooks and save them to the hard drive or to a flash drive. This eliminates the need to save old books and files, therefore freeing up space in the classroom for other items such as computers and tables.