As technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, we,
as teachers, need to make sure that we are incorporating its use into our
classrooms. I’ve heard time and time again that technology is not going
anywhere, so we owe it to our students to make sure we are teaching them how to
use different types of technology and how they can be responsible with said
technology. I believe in getting to know my students and to putting their needs
first within my classroom. In order for me to do that, I need to use those
things that are most important to them—whatever it is that may look like. For
example, my students will be taught when it is appropriate to use their cell
phones in class, because I do not want to be the sort of teacher who tells them
it is never appropriate. The teacher
is no longer the smartest person in the room and that is something we need to
become comfortable with. Whenever my students encounter a word they don’t know,
I am going to teach them that it is okay to pull out their cell phone and to
look the word up. If we are going through a text with a class, I especially want
to stress that notion: if they do not know something, why are we denying them
the ability to look it up, when they have a mini-computer in their pockets?
I believe in making technology a part of the classroom, because
this is an important part of our lives and our students deserve to have that
integrated into their classrooms. I realize that having technology a part of the
classroom is really dependent on the district I am in and what sorts of
resources I have within my school. If I am lucky to teach in Poudre School
District where almost all of the schools are 1-to-1 for computers, then I will
be able to use a lot of online resources. I really like Edmodo and Google
Classroom, and I would like to have those has the main at-home resource for my
students, whenever they may need to re-read an assignment or when they have a question
that can address to their classmates. I want my students to be able to use
technology, because I do not believe learning should only happen in the
classroom. Thanks to the ever changing day-and-age we have found ourselves in,
we should be encouraging students to use their resources in any way that is
possible.
I hope to get more comfortable with technology as I work with my
high schoolers in the fall and then student teach in the spring. I am very fortunate
to be able to work with Poudre School District, because they have so much
technology that is available to their teachers and students. I want to work on continuing
to stay up-to-date on all technologies and to develop myself both
professionally and personally in regards to technology.
