Week 1: Technology Integration

Technology isn't just about the newest gadget or "App" that has been revealed, it has become a part of our everyday culture.  Technology has been creating a new way of live, a new means to live.  At first, I was very technologically resistant.  Being somewhat stubborn, I wasn't committed to learning about how computers worked and would get frustrated when I tried.  Why type a paper when I could easily handwrite it the way I was used to?  That all changed when schools were requiring homework to be typed and my family bought our first computer back when I was in the fifth grade.  It was a slow process adapting to the use of computers, but once I climbed over that learning hump, everything from there forward was nothing but obtaining the newest trend in technology.  Looking over 15 years back,  I would not believe that I would one day own a phone that does more than make phone calls, video chat instantly with friends and family overseas, complete tax returns as quickly as a half hour, and online bank wherever and whenever I wanted.  Now, I could not even imagine a life without this luxury of growing technology.  A professor from the video "Learning to Change- Changing to Learn" sums up my feeling on technology the best with this quote: "Much more learning is taking place outside the classroom.  Information can now be retrieved on demand wherever, whenever".  That is such a wonderful way to expand our knowledge and grow.

I grew up in the generation right before the technological boom of the internet.  Today, generations are being born into this culture where iPods are the new boom boxes and iPads are the new books.  Technology integration in the classroom is a must for successful learning to take place.  But in order to the most effective, this integration must be the most up to date and follow the most recent trends.  To define technology integration would be implementing the way that students use and interact with all aspects of technology into the lesson plan.  Facebook is one example of the many resources that today's students use at least once a day, if not more.  Setting up a classroom online network similar to how students use Facebook, by means of posts and allowing for comments, is an example of technology integration.  Not to sound cliche, but the way that we are blogging in this class is a great example of that.  

To quote the video "Learning to Change- Changing to Learn", the key to successful technology integration is to "turn the classroom system into a community system".  Using Skype, GChat, and various email services are another way to implement technology into lessons.  Without these various services, global connections that were made in the article "Friends and Flags: A Multicultural Learning Project"  would not be possible.  Not only are students today reading about various global topics, but they are able to connect to them and learn about them first hand.  The article "Using Digitized Documents in the Classroom" explains how students can now access almost any piece of information that they desire and can customize it in a way that makes it the most comfortable for them to learn.  Technology integration helps bring lessons to life and makes learning meaningful and, therefore, the most effective.

Technology is changing the way that we learn, and it's only getting better.  Things that were at one time inaccessible are available, at most times, on demand.  We as teachers or future teachers need to embrace this wave of new technology and implement it into everyday classroom activities.  I'm going to end with a quote from the video "Learning to Change- Changing to Learn" that made the biggest impression on me.  "It's the death of education and the dawn of learning".  Traditional methods of teaching in the education system are being replaced by a new and most effective approach thanks to the ever changing technology.

Sources:

video: "Learning to Change-Changing to Learn"

"Using Digitized Documents in the Classroom"- Susan M. Allen and Karen M. Dutt-Doner

"Friends and Flags: A Multicultural Learning Project"- Karen Eini