...embracing technology every day
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Barbara K. Smalla - Technology Support Specialist
We are surrounded by technology; we can choose to resist it,
or we can embrace it...I choose to embrace it!
Technology can improve the way instruction is delivered and increase students' involvement, understanding, and retention. Today's students have grown up surrounded by technology, including a variety of remote controls, iPods, cellular telephones and video games. How can we expect students to set aside these daily technology tools when they enter the classroom and still be actively engaged in lessons devoid of technology? The answer is, "we can't". We as educators must embrace the tools that our students are comfortable with and leverage those tools to enhance the learning experience for every student. The key to success of technology use in the classroom is integration; lessons must be infused with technology tools and resources.
Technology enhances our daily lives at the most basic levels...our coffee pot that turns itself on so that we wake each morning to hot, fresh coffee; the message on the dash of our car that reminds us to change the oil; in-home Internet connections that allow us to shop and conduct banking transactions from the comfort of our living room. We can also connect with family and friends through email, instant messaging, and Internet phones. We need only to stop and take a good look to realize the part that technology plays in the world around us.
Is there really a job in existence in the United States today that does not include technology at some level? Infra-red scanners at the grocery store checkout lane; bar code readers for taking inventory; cellular phones that map delivery routes; even the tractor in the farmers' field is a technological wonder!
Technology is definitely not going away; better that we climb on the band wagon, than be left is the dust!
I invite you to explore this site to see the things that I have done to advance technology in education, by: working with K-12 teachers and staff; teaching community education classes; and, teaching pre-service K-12 teachers ways that they, too, can use technology to enhance learning in their future classrooms.
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Learning is a continuous conversation among many participants". -Will Richardson