Why is it
important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach,
regardless the age of the students? Discuss what may be barriers to technology
integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them. Using what you have learned
throughout the course, please provide examples and information to support your
answer. Within this blog entry, please discuss some web2.0 tools that would
assist with technology integration.
It is important for
teachers to integrate technology into the classroom as much as possible for
several reasons. Technology is all
around us and we use it everyday.
Students are going to need to know how to navigate through different technological
tools when they enter the workplace. If
a student is applying for a certain office position and does not know basic
computer skills, then they will probably be passed over for the position. Students are constantly using technology to
do almost everything. I find it hard to
believe that schools still have kids “power down” when they enter the
building. We need to use all of this
technology that we are surrounded by and use it to our benefit. No matter what the student’s age, they will
need to be familiar with the current technology. Technology changes so fast that if students
are not exposed to it they can fall behind quick. Students can get so much more out of the
classroom if they are interested in what is going on. This applies to students of every grade
level. If a student is not interested
then they are going to daydream and not learn anything. But if we can get the students interest and
have them become active learners, then the limits are endless.
Some barriers that
teachers may come across while trying to implement technology is convincing
teachers that are stuck in the old school method of just standing in front of
the classroom and lecturing. I think the
more teachers are exposed to technology and see the benefits of using it they
will be more willing to use it. Just
from my field experience, if I wasn’t already supporting technology in the
classroom, I would after witnessing how excited the students were to use the
iPad. The students were more engaged and
were an active participant in the class when they got to use technology. In the article Shaping Tech for the Classroom by Marc Prensky, he gives a perfect example of how teachers are running into
barriers at their schools. “But new technology still faces a great
deal of resistance. Today, even in many schools with computers, Luddite
administrators (and even Luddite technology administrators) lock down the
machines, refusing to allow students to access email. Many also block instant
messaging, cell phones, cell phone cameras, unfiltered Internet access, Wikipedia, and
other potentially highly effective educational tools and technologies, to our
kids' tremendous frustration.” I liked
this articles perspective on how to break down some of these barriers. Prensky talks about how we should go to the
students and ask them for their input.
The students know so much more about technology then most of the
teachers. I liked the quote, “The only
way to move forward effectively is to combine what they know about technology
with what we know and require about education.”
I think this is a great solution that I honestly never thought of. I think that most kids would feel more
involved with their education if they had some input on how they are taught.
Another big barrier would be cost. Every student really should have their own
laptop or iPad, but most schools cannot afford this. There are ways around this, but schools would
have to be willing to do a little work.
Schools could use old computers and upgrade the software and get Internet
access. This way more students would be
able to have access to some sort of technology.
I know there are federal grants that schools can apply for to get iPad’s
into the schools, but yet again someone is going to have to do the work to get
the grant. I think that most school administrators
are seeing that the benefits of technology out weigh the cost factor in acquiring
the technological tools.
I have learned about so many new web 2.0
tools that would help with technology integration. These tools help students and teachers
interact and enhance their learning.
They also allow teachers to cover more ground when teaching. I think that Diigo is a great tool to connect
with other teachers around the world to work together about different things
that may or may not work in the classroom.
Instead of one teacher trying and failing different methods and
technology to incorporate in the classroom you get to learn from others that
have already attempted it. I think that
for younger kids tools like story jumper would be great to use in the
classroom. Kids can get creative and make different stories that go along with the current lesson plan. This would be an activity that students would
have fun doing and would learn at the same time. I would definitely use something like this in
my future classroom. I also look forward
to being able to use iPad’s in the classroom.
I think these are great tools and can be used many different ways with
all age levels. I know kids would benefit
from doing different activities, like practice tracing numbers and letters. There are also many different free
applications that a teacher can use. I really enjoyed this class and can not wait until I get to implement all I learned in the classroom.
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