Final Blog- Hard to believe

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.