Erin Harris

12-07-05

Technology Journey II

            Technology is an asset to our future classrooms in the essence that this is the road that the world is taking. Almost every job, education needed or not, requires an understanding of some form of technology whether it is cell phones, computers, or some other form of electronics. This is why it is so important for us to teach and teach with technology in our classrooms.

            My perspective of technology in education has definitely changed as a result of professional development. I now understand the importance of technology for my own use in the classroom when it comes to using PowerPoint slide shows to introduce a lesson plan or using a table and graphics for an open house flyer. For example, here is copyright flyer that I designed in my Computer Applications class fall semester of 2005.

            Also throughout my professional development, I have read many articles on the uses of technology in classrooms. In these readings there were many things that were addressed that aren’t always thought about, but were very important. For example, how important it is for us to teach students to research the credibility of a website when using that site for a research paper. In the article “Teaching Kids to be Web Literate,” (http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200103/webliterate.html) they talk about a fourteen year old boy named Zack who is writing a paper on concentration camps. After reading an article by Professor Arthur Butz of Northwestern University, Zack was convinced that there was never a Holocaust. Zack trusted the word of a professor because of his status, but come to find out; he was an engineering professor therefore having no credibility as a historian. It is important for us to teach our students how to make these distinctions when doing research on the internet.

            It is also important for us to teach out students’ internet ethics. According to the article “Net-Wise Teens: Safety, Ethics, and Innovation,” (http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/08/netwise.html) only two percent of students rate their ability to use the internet as poor, and only sixteen percent rate their ability as fair. Here are the exact statistics from the article:

“How kids rate their ability to use the internet”

• 2% Poor
• 16% Fair
• 52% Good
• 30% Excellent

With our students having this kind of exposure to the internet, we need to make sure that they are well educated of the ethics and safety issues that pertain to the use of the internet.

            In the article “Digital tools for digital students,” (http://www.apple.com/education/digitalkids/) it states that students are more engaged while multitasking. They often see no problem in watching TV, talking on the telephone, and surfing the net at the same time. To some of us, doing all of these things at the same time seems a little overwhelming, but often times the students of the new age accept the challenge. I found this information interesting and think that it is important for us to remember to appropriately challenge our students.

            Some of the critical issues facing technology education today are affordability and adaptability. I personally plan to address these issues in my own classroom by writing grants and involving the community in working together to provide our children with the appropriate technologies. I also plan on keeping up on the new technologies that enter our lives in hopes to utilize these technologies in the classroom. I will make sure that the technologies used in my classroom are appropriate for the students being instructed.

            I plan on using many technologies in my classroom ranging from smart boards to PowerPoint presentations. I also plan on using hands on technologies for the students such as educational software or Mini Me’s. I currently am challenged by the Smart Boards but plan on overcoming this challenge by practice as I have seen many others do.

            I would like to maintain a class web page on the school website. This will allow a forum for the parents as well as teachers. I think that this is a very important aspect of a school, because it is a good source of updates and communication.

            I will admit that I was not always this excited about technology. To be quite honest, I was rather intimidated by it, but with the practice and challenges that I have overcome, I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom on a very regular basis.