Embracing Technology

The world has changed.  We are now a society that is fully engulfed in technological needs.  This era will influence the new types of careers and jobs that will be available to my students.  As educators, we must continue to remain practical in our ways of preparing our students for the world in which they will inherit.  We must incorporate today’s tools into our daily lesson.  Therefore, learning to incorporate group lessons, respond to and create a blog, create and utilize a wiki, and create a podcast has been the beginning of my technological growth. 

I know that my teaching process and my perspective of the class needs to change.  For example, I must teach with the end in mind with technology being used as the product or the process.  I must deepen my knowledge of the teaching and learning process.  Also, I now realize that teaching today involves me as the facilitator and not the lecturer.  This technique I can honestly say will continue to be a daily exercise by both myself and my students. 

I have two long-term goals that I hope will help me change my classroom into a technologically focused class.   Yet, I cannot forget that there are barriers such as limited access to technology and lack of teacher training in the use of technology.   The first goal is to get my entire class proficient with the usage of the latest technology.  This includes using the tools that we already have at home: digital cameras, video cameras, and IPods.  Yet, time is a big obstacle, so I must create a timeline to get everything accomplished.   My second goal is to become a more technologically savvy teacher.  I am fortunate to work for a school system that offers the latest educational classes in technology.  Yet, beyond my graduate classes, I must also integrate technology into my life. By using technology and continuing to learn about technology on purpose, I will definitely change my classroom environment.

In regards to a survey that I took that focused on the integration of technology into my daily lessons, I have grown.  I originally stated that I rarely designed lessons incorporating technology to support the lesson goals.  Now, each lesson that I create has a technology piece. I have already begun utilizing the tools that are readily available in my school district such as research and writing tools. Now that we have a classroom that completely incorporates technology, I feel more comfortable with the idea of incorporating new ideas to our classroom.  I think this aspect of my professional development I am most proud of.

Change is inevitable. Technology is the natural next step in our growth.  I cannot turn my back on technology.  Ultimately, if I am to remain a relevant teacher I must not only be able to use technology, but I must also be able to integrate it.