Technology in Education

With the ever growing changes in the 21st century, including the increase in technology it is even more important that educators grow in technology. Technology can be a huge step in improving education for our 21st century learners. Students today are more technologically savvy than many of our educators; however, I believe that if we can let go of the 'old ways' of teaching and open our minds to the new ways our students will be more engaged in learning and we as educators will be more engaged in teaching. While I teach using computers on a daily basis, I must admit my technology skill level is low. Already in this course I have learned some valuable tools which I have implemented in my classroom. Their are many technology tools available in which my students are more technology savvy than myself. I am learning that I will allow myself to be open to what the students have to say, there is much I can learn from the students in my classroom. I believe that if am willing to allow the students to have some input in their learning that the students and I will learn more and have a more engaging classroom experience.

One example of this is the use of edmodo.net in my classroom. I learned about this website from one of the classmates in this course. It has been a great addition to my classroom, my students see it as a Facebook page they are allowed to access in school. I use the website to post the assignments and due dates and other information students need to know. The students can then upload their assignments on the website, I access the assignment and grade them. The students can have access to their grades/assignments at any time/place. The students can also send posts to their classmates and to the teacher.