My Beliefs

I have many different feelings and beliefs on the integration of technology. I can see how beneficial it can be, but I can also see issues along with that too. Technology is great because it is how people live today. It can get students more active and engaged in their learning. It also can simply make learning fun. It makes communication with parents, colleges, and students much easier, etc. These are great things, and they are things that I want in my classroom.

With that being said, I am still through all I have learned fairly skeptical about the use of technology, especially if not carefully monitored. One students can easily get distracted on things like the internet and it can make learning much more difficult. Another reason (and this is big to me) is simply having the supplies accessible. One things that I learned really well in field is that computer time is not something easy to come by. There's only so many computer labs in a school with a lot of classes, and trying to get time to do projects can be hard. If you're in a less wealthy school you may not be able to use many forms of technology without spending the money yourself.

Over all I think that technology integration is a great idea and should be used whenever able. I just think that it can be hard to come by, and maybe through more experience, I will have more ideas of integration that would be easy and cheap to use with the curriculum. Who knows we have an ever changing technological world.

Lessons Learned

It absolutely blows my mind at just how much our world is dependent on technology. Its like children are programmed from little babies to handle these things, and they are incredibly smart! I liked how the WWW article talked about the reasons to be cautious but also talked about how if incorporated properly, just how effective technology can be. It is very possible to get children more involved and to make learning fun.

I also was intrigued by the "Did You Know" video. Although this video is a few years old, it still gives a pretty good eye opener at how fast technology is changing. I look at what this video was saying about the technology changing in 3 years and think, Wow, it really is different. A lot of things are the same but the abilities of technology keep increasing so fast. I can see this being difficult with students using technology that teachers have no idea how to use unless they keep up on technology.

Lastly, I enjoyed the "Teens See Disconnect Between Personal and School Writing". This was interesting to me because it really explained my teenage life. I was one that never enjoyed english and writing, but I always would write and message friends. The first paper I wrote that I truly enjoyed was my college persuasive essay; this was because I could actually put my opinions and feelings into it, and research what I wanted to learn. This is a good example of integrating technology into the education system. It works.

Strengths and Weaknesses

According to the UNI survey I am at the levels of novice and apprentice. I have a pretty good basic knowledge of the computer and its programs, as well as how to use them. With the NET standards I do know some ways of integrating technology into the classroom and why it is important. I also know the different issues of using technology in the classroom, which is why in some areas I still and somewhat skeptical.

Some goals that I have for integrating technology are one, becoming more familiar with different uses for it in the curriculum. Another would be to not only learn about the uses out there but the technology itself, such as how to use certain programs and become more knowledgeable with them. There are different ways to go about accomplishing these goals and building more strengths, this can be through educational articles, teacher workshops that districts hold, and even teacher videos that can be found on youtube or teachertube etc.

By using these different resources of knowledge, I can learn from other peoples experiences and get a more hands on experience with the technology out there. I will be more well rounded as a teacher and hopefully be a better teacher in general.