My First Blog Post.... EEEEEKK

In a world... (imagine reading that with a great Don LaFontaine voice, it really reads better that way) where technology is everywhere, cell phones in watches - crazy!!! It is no surprise that integrating technology into education is becoming such an important issue. Students are immersed in a world with technology, cell phones are their alarm clock, computer, messeneger, and radio and oh ya, sometimes they use them to answer phone calls too. I must admit that I am guilty, I don't go anywhere without my iPhone and it is my primary computing source because there are so many benefits, so why as educators are we not taking advantages of these benefits rather than removing them from the students hands?

In my first student teaching placement I was fortunate enough to attend a school that embraced technology. They instituded a program that gave each student entering grade nine the choice of one device (options included a few tablets or netbooks) that they would keep, and be responsible for throughout their remaining time at the school (no more booking computer labs, or not having enough computers for each students!). Unfortunately for me, this program was in its first year and I had did not teach any grade nine classes. I didn't let this stop me from my technological integration mission, although I was always jealous of the teachers who had shiny new iPad's sitting on their desk for months just waiting to be opened (yes, some of the teachers hadn't even begun to explore the possibilities).

Those aforementioned teachers of the stone age don't even know what they are missing, not only does technology make teaching fun and interesting for the students, it makes digital organization sooooooo much easier for the teacher, a term known as Digital Curation (Top Ten Tools for Digital Curation). Although my teaching experience prior to my first placement was very limited, I quickly saw the way students learn best, and that is with technology where ever possible (YouTube can be a teacher's best friend if your school division allows it). The number one request I had from my students was to watch videos, not all the time, but sometimes, and I didn't take this as a knock to my teaching skills, but rather as a learning opportunity for the students, and yes I do believe the students were learning from the videos, not just seeking a break from traditional lecturing. In order for students to learn through technology, teachers need to learn about technology.

Back to Don LaFontaine (just for fun).