Technology+Integration+Sec+2

Teaching has gone through numerous changes in this country over the course the country’s existence. We have changed the types of teachers, the physical set up of the school, the diversity of the students and teacher, and we are still doing what we can to improve the setting for education. A huge change we are dealing with now, as teachers in the twenty-first century, is the integration of technology. Technology has played, and still plays key parts in helping development of a student’s education. As up and coming teacher’s we have been taught that there is more than one way to teach a student, and that we must teach in ways that best suit the students’ needs. Technology is becoming a way that more students are being able to understand, and demonstrate the knowledge they have learned. Let’s face it, we live in the technology age, and it would be ignorant of us, as future teachers, not to intertwine technology with a majority of our lesson plans. The integration of technology is key, in order to take the educational system to a whole new level. So what are the problems, what is issue with technology in the classroom? There are a few major problems in dealing with technology in the classroom. With the internet ever expanding, there seems to be an infinite amount of websites using technology to help teach different content areas in multiple ways. Thus we should have infinite resources through the web alone; however, that is not the case. The first problem is weeding out the useful programs, or type two technologies, from the not useful programs, type one technology. An example would be a program on the internet that solves the quadratic formula in a quick and eye appealing manner. This is not useful to the student, for all they have to do is just plug in the values, and the work is done for them. There is no explanation from how they got from the first step to the last. The student did not learn anything from this program, except how to punch in numbers. The second issue deals with technologies a school can buy, and their budget. There multiple technologies from various companies that have the ability to redefine the way teachers construct a classroom. Examples of these technologies are the SMART board and SMART table. The SMART board is an interactive white board which a teacher runs with their laptop. The SMART table is an interactive table which has a screen and can connect to the internet and run programs that can be installed onto the table. Say there is a student in a biology lab, who doesn’t believe in dissecting real animals, with the dissecting program offered they can still dissect the animal and learn the anatomy without having to actually cut up the animal. The SMART table can sync up with the SMART board too, allowing students to present the work they have done while remaining at their seats. If every school could have these technologies it would help solve a lot of problems in the classroom, however to obtain just a couple of these things would bankrupt the school. Yes, there alternatives like grant writing to get money, but one cannot guarantee their school will win the grant. There have always been problems like this with the integration of technology, even from the start. Technology’s biggest integration in the school was the computer. Imagine the first time a student was able to write something, and when they made a mistake they didn’t have start over completely, or bear down on the eraser. Now the student could easily erase with backspace button to fix the mistakes made. However the same problem occurred then, as it does now, which is cost. Schools couldn’t afford to have several computers in every room, so they created computer rooms. Computer rooms are where the school would have several computers that would have to be shared among the entire school. This limited the students to what they could do, since they were only allowed to be on the computers at most a few hours of the week. Now computers have gone from only in the computer room; to each individual student has their own computer. But soon, computers became only a supplement to teaching, and didn’t have much purpose besides word processing in the classroom. Now with ever growing internet and all of its resources, in order to be a teacher in the twenty-first century, a potential teacher must have a strong grasp on how to incorporate technology into their classroom. Technology and education are now intertwined. The internet is giving access to information that is wider than what their textbooks or teachers know. Now, more is expected of teachers because of the integration of technology. Teachers must use technology to make their classes more engaging to their students, or they will be asked to find a different profession. However, there are different schools of thought on the issue of technology. There are teachers from an older generation, who tend to shun technology instead of incorporating technology. On the other hand, current and potential teachers believe that the incorporation of technology is vital to the success of the classroom. Not all teachers of these generations fall into these beliefs, though. There are teachers from the older generations who are fascinated with what the integration of technology will bring into the classroom. Depending on the comfort level with technology, and one’s belief about how it should be integrated into the classroom, affects how someone teaches, and how their children learn from the technology. We agree that there are things a teacher can do with technology in any content area that can provide students the chance to learn the material better. Technology gives the students more of a creative ability, because they can show in different ways how they learned the material. Different programs provide different ways to express the same information, whether students create a video, wikispace, timeline they all can thoroughly show the information through each of these technologies. Not every student is a test-taker. They all can’t write a five to seven page paper on some event in a timed and pressured situation. Some students need a different outlet to express the information they have learned. It also depends on who you are teaching to. Inclusive classrooms are also becoming more frequent in this era of teaching, so assistive technology is becoming another must have in the classroom. What we have gained from, not only this project, but our entire tenure at The University of Maine at Farmington is that integrating technology into our classrooms is a must have. Whether it is the latest cutting edge technology, assistive technology, or some older technology it must be integrated into our classrooms at the appropriate times. We have also learned that technology is good; however, it is not called for in every aspect of teaching. Everything we do as teachers doesn’t have to be a type two technology. There are lessons and activities that have worked for years, and just because we are moving into a technological age doesn’t mean we should get rid of them. For, there are still students who will benefit more from those other lessons than being taught through technology alone.

"Education World® : Technology in the Classroom Center : Archives : Using Technology." //Education World® The Educator's Best Friend//. Education World, Inc. Web. 4 <[]>. This website provides a variety of tips and tricks on how to use technology in the classroom. Some of the links include what teachers should know about social networking sites, ideas for using iPods and Cell Phones in the classroom, as well as many other heard off and unheard of technologies. "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." //U.S. Department of Education//. Web. <[]>. This website provides a look into how technology is affecting teachers and students alike. Some of these topics include a changes in roles, greater collaboration with peers, an increased use of outside course, among other things. Hargadon, Steve. "Beginner Group!" //Classroom 2.0//. Web. <[]>. This is an excellent website that contains forums started by teachers to get feed back from other teachers. The majority of the forums talk about how to incorporate technology in the classroom and what types of technology each teacher uses. It is a great resource when looking for ideas on what to do in your own classroom or how to make a lesson more engaging. "History of Computers in Education." //California State University, Long Beach//. Web. <[|http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html]>. This timeline provides a look at the history of computers beginning with 1780 and following up to 2008. Though it is slightly outdated, it does provide an interesting look into what sparked the interest in doling out technology quickly, and what the leading factors in putting technology in the classroom may have been. "Education World® : Technology in the Classroom Center : Archives : Using Technology." //Education World® The Educator's Best Friend//. Education World, Inc. Web. 4 <[]>. This website provides a variety of tips and tricks on how to use technology in the classroom. Some of the links include what teachers should know about social networking sites, ideas for using iPods and Cell Phones in the classroom, as well as many other heard off and unheard of technologies. Edutopia Staff,. "Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many." //edutopia.org//. George Lucas Educational Foundation, 17/Mar/2008. Web. 4 Nov 2010. . This website offers some information as to why it is important for educators today to incorporate technology into the classroom. The website has tips for integration as well as opinions from others in the field on which ones they have used that work well. "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." //U.S. Department of Education//. Web. <[]>. This website provides a look into how technology is affecting teachers and students alike. Some of these topics include a changes in roles, greater collaboration with peers, an increased use of outside course, among other things. Fryer, Wesley. "Moving At The Speed of Creativity." //Moving At The Speed of Creativity//. Creative Commons, 22/Jul/2010. Web. 4 Nov 2010. . This website offers many avenues to get in touch with Wes Fryer and his knowledge and use of technology in the classroom. He constantly updates his websites and other public forums with information on the newest gadgets, educational websites, and insight into integration. A great resource for teachers looking for ways to bring their classrooms into the 21st Century. Hall, Shane. "The History of Technology In The Classroom." //eHow.com//. eHow, 19/Oct/2009. Web. 4 Nov 2010. . This website gives a basic outline of the history of technology in the classroom, beginning with IBM’s first personal computer developed in 1981, to discussing the implications of technology in today’s classroom. Hargadon, Steve. "Beginner Group!" //Classroom 2.0//. Web. <[]>. This is an excellent website that contains forums started by teachers to get feed back from other teachers. The majority of the forums talk about how to incorporate technology in the classroom and what types of technology each teacher uses. It is a great resource when looking for ideas on what to do in your own classroom or how to make a lesson more engaging. "History of Computers in Education." //California State University, Long Beach//. Web. <[|http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html]>. This timeline provides a look at the history of computers beginning with 1780 and following up to 2008. Though it is slightly outdated, it does provide an interesting look into what sparked the interest in doling out technology quickly, and what the leading factors in putting technology in the classroom may have been. Richmond, Ron. "Integration of Technology in the Classroom: An Instructional Perspective." //saskschoolboards.ca//. SSTA Research Centre, 26/Jul/2006. Web. 4 Nov 2010. . This website offers a lot of information on the development and implementation of technology in the classroom. Its strengths and weaknesses are discussed as well as how it relates to specific content areas. It is a long article but the depth of information is pretty extensive. SMART Technologies [] This website offered numerous technologies that can be used in the classroom. These technologies are changing teaching styles, and lesson plans across the world. SCHOOL: The Story of American Public Education [] This website is a part of the Video Series SCHOOL. This particular page listed out some of the technologies used throughout the course of education. Dr. Karen Jarrett Thomas //Integrating Technology in the Classroom//. [|http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed00/thoms.html] This website is about how we can train teachers to successfully use technology in the classroom, and what styles of teaching go best with technology. Matheison, Brittany. //Learning v. Understanding: The difference between technology use and technology integration in the classroom.// [] This website provides a fellow student’s look at how we should be integrating technology into the classroom, and to make sure we are not just using technology.