Chapter Four; Integrating Technology and Creating Change
Integrating technology into our classrooms is something that we can either fight or embrace. Once you decide how to you feel about it you need to realize, that it doesn't really matter. All joking aside its something that regardless of a teachers thoughts on the matter has to be integrated into our teaching methods and even classroom organization. Personally I look forward to implementing some of the exciting technological tools that this chapter, as well as this entire coarse has shared with me
Integrating technology into our classrooms is something that we can either fight or embrace. Once you decide how to you feel about it you need to realize, that it doesn't really matter. All joking aside its something that regardless of a teachers thoughts on the matter has to be integrated into our teaching methods and even classroom organization. Personally I look forward to implementing some of the exciting technological tools that this chapter, as well as this entire coarse has shared with me
Tech Tool:
After exploring this most recent tech tool I was pleasantly
surprised to have found yet another useful tool to use in my future classrooms.
This site organized great articles, links, photographs, and blogs by grade
level and subject matter. It is neat to think that if you are a third grade
math teacher you can connect and learn along with other 3rd grade
math teachers that are posting and sharing their thoughts on activities and
articles that pertain to your specific age group and subject matter. The About Us portion of the site helped for a good picture of the minds behind this site.
It is said that the goal of the site is to “transform the learning process by helping
educators implement the strategies such as: empowering students to think
critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaboratively,
and communicate with clarity and impact”. One of the most interesting things I came across was this video on collaborative learning.
Focus Question:
How does technology promote educational change?
Since change is happening all around the world, every
second, of every day, the most direct impact that technology has that promote
educational change is the enabling of communication. Educational social
networking sites allow teachers from the entire world to communicate with one
another and share thoughts and ideas that innovate other teachers’ approaches.
Educational publications that are posted via the internet spread faster than
they ever would have without the technology we have access to and the touch of
a button. We can use our cell phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers
to access up to date information on any curriculum we’d like to look at. In my
opinion the impact technology has on communication is its biggest factor in
influencing change not only education but in nearly everything. People are the
facilitators or change and when people can share the changes they see around
them and access the information others share about their changing worlds the
possibilities are endless.
I hope you continue to find the positives in using technology - there are definitely some on the 'other side' of the camp on this topic...as hard as that is for me to believe! ;) Communication is an important foundational impact of technology, but I think there's even more opportunity that you will discover as you learn more about it. Keep thinking about the transference to your future classroom! :)
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