Tech+Integration


 * Technology Integration **

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**1.) Upon watching numerous videos in the Edutopia video library, I was extremely impressed and inspired by the huge variety of ways teachers and principals have been integrating technology into their schools! I was especially impressed by the video entitled “Technology Provides Parents a Window on the Classroom by Linking Home to School,” about technology integration at Forest Lake Elementary School. I enjoyed this video and idea in particular because of its affordability, accessibility, and practical use. The video documented how each student in the classroom was given a Blackboard account (at an affordable rate of only $2.50 per student each year) and how this account was used so as to provide parents access to what their child had learned in the classroom that day. While some of the technology integration in videos I encountered centered around sophisticated and expensive technology, the technology used in this video was simply a computer, the internet, and access to the World Wide Web as well as a Blackboard account. Also, the integration is easy to work with as quite a few parents these days are comfortable with accessing the internet and signing in to a portal. As a prospective teacher, I have always thought of parents as allies, helpers, and fellow teachers. After all, they have their child’s best interest at heart. I had always been a fan of the class newspaper and website, but this idea provides a much richer connection. Through Blackboard, teachers can provide parents with access to students’ daily journaling about their learning in blogs, upcoming assignments and ideas for extra credit, provided study tools for extra practice, and the ability to keep track of their child’s progress through posted grades. In short, this technology integration is ideal as it strengthens the connection between the teacher, student, and parent as partners working toward a common goal.**

**2.) The primary reason I feel technology integration in today’s classroom is important is because it motivates and excites students about learning while at the same time preparing them with important skills and tools that they will use in the future. Integrating technology into our classrooms opens up a world of possibilities for teaching and learning that would otherwise not be possible. Class websites, teacher created and customized worksheets and graphic organizers, PowerPoint presentations, educational computer games, slideshows, and child friendly search engines and websites are just a few technological tools whose potential for increasing learning in the classroom is immense. Another huge benefit of technology integration is that it provides students with authentic learning activities which encourage motivation through allowing them to interact with the world around them present what they have learned to a real audience. I plan to use technology integration in my own classroom through creating a class website where upcoming units, assignments, and news or announcements will be posted. I look forward to creating my own worksheets and graphic organizers specifically for my class and plan to use websites for educational scavenger hunts as well as for word or math problem of the day activities. In addition, I would like to show students how to use search engines on the World Wide Web for research purposes. I’d also like to make my own PowerPoint presentations with real photos and primary sources relating to what we are studying in class. Online educational games will also be welcome in my classroom at appropriate times. Furthermore, I know technology will also aid me in my own organization as I will be able to email parents and keep track of grades and attendance electronically. The possibilities of what technology integration in the classroom has to offer are endless and benefit both students and teachers alike! ** **__*Reflection*:__ The purpose of this technical integration assignment was to open prospective teachers’ eyes to the vast array of possibilities integrating technology into the classroom has to offer. We first learned about what technology integration actually is and all of the benefits it has to offer to students and teachers alike. We were then exposed to hundreds of informative videos in the Edutopia video library demonstrating how teachers and principals utilized various forms of technology to enhance student learning or to facilitate teacher or parent responsibilities and communication in their schools. We also explored websites full of tips and ideas regarding how teacher’s can integrate technology into their lessons. I found this lesson and assignment in particular to be very useful. Before beginning the lesson, I had only a fuzzy idea of what technology integration actually was. By the time I had completed my assignment, I had been exposed to hundreds of inspiring ways I can use technology to enhance the learning in my classroom. I bookmarked the web-pages full of such ideas as I know I will use them in the future, as well as the word and math problem of the day websites. I am also planning on creating a class website for the benefit of both students and parents, creating my own worksheets and graphic organizers specifically for my class, and creating PowerPoint presentations containing photos and video clips specifically catering to material we are learning in class. **