Lessons Learned

What have I learned? I have learned that we need to embrace technology and not ban it from the schools. Instead of banning all technology in the schools why don't we harness the power and use these expensive devices to keep the kids interested and learning! It makes sense after reading these articles. If we as teachers can develop programs and software along the lines of our curriculum and then integrate it into our lessons and have the students interacting, it will keep them engaged and it will make learning fun again!

I also learned that as teachers we have to keep up with the technology as much as the kids are. We can't force them into backwards land. We have to make the jump to tomorrow land. We can not teach school the same way that it was taught to us. Our students will not succeed. Their lives are dependent on technology because it has been there since they were born. It is up to us as teachers to figure out how to use it to our benefit and how we can best accommodate our learners.

I think my biggest concern however, is being able to appropriately integrate the technology into my classroom. Making sure to keep my students safe, and actively engaged in the learning process. I need to make sure that the use of technology in my classroom will be developmentally appropriate and will challenge all of my students. I need to make sure that I don't leave some students behind. So just being able to tweak different things so that I can help all of my students succeed.