Philosophy of Education

            Technology use and innovation continues to increase and expand everyday.  Our society has become dependent on technology and relies heavily on its functions!  Since technology has become such an important part of our daily lives, it is important to incorporate it into elementary/middle school classrooms.  Teacher and student interaction is fundamental for students to learn and understand the content that is covered; however, technology can only improve the level of learning in a classroom.

            After learning about the different standards that have been set for students, reading differing views of the use of technology in the classroom, and actually using different types of technology, my views on the issue have become more succinct.  At the beginning of my course on Instructional Technology, my views about the use of technology in the classroom were somewhat negative and against its role.  Now that I have had the opportunity to develop my technology skills and operations and use different programs, my views have changed.  Technology is important for making instruction and learning more effective, efficient, and encouraging for all students!

            Students in our society are living in a multi-medial enhances and technological world.  The use of technology will only continue to increase and grow!  By teaching students how to use different programs and by planning instruction that includes the use of technology, more students will be able to make connections to their own lives and they will be able to engage at a much higher level.  Using technology does not just include the internet or word processing.  Instead it encompasses a much larger range of programs and capabilities.  For example, technology can be used to create iMovies, Power Point projects, WebQuests, Wikis, or even EduBlogs.  Having these different types of resources available allows for varying instruction and for reaching all students.

            If students have a hard time communicating verbally or in written form, using technology allows them to portray their thoughts just as well or better than they could using the traditional form of communication.  Using technology as a form of communication allows students to progress at equal rates as their peers. 

            Some individuals may argue that technology should not be heavily relied upon in the classroom because of the varying levels of resources students have outside of the classroom.  That can be an issue since a classroom can have several different socioeconomic classes represented; however, I would argue that by incorporating technology into the classroom students have an equal opportunity to learn.  Outside of the classroom students may not have computers or other types of technology, so if it is included then the lessons should stay in the classroom; the teacher cannot expect students to work on projects outside of the room.

            Technology in the classroom can also increase the productivity of the teacher and make instruction flow much smoother!  For productivity, the teacher can use technology to communicate with students, parents, other teachers, and even community members.  This allows other people to know what is happening in the classroom and it can create an environment that encourages group and collaborative learning!  Instruction can be enhanced by technology to help keep students engaged and motivated to learn, but it can also function as another way to reach students. 

            In my classroom, technology will be included in several ways so that learning is maximized.  My lessons will incorporate technology so students have an alternative way of communicating their thoughts and knowledge.  I will create WebQuests for students so that they have the opportunity to work online and I will also create an EduBlog for my class so that the students in the classroom can communicate with each other as well as with me.  Creating an EduBlog for the students is like an online journal; using technology can motivate students to engage and can function as a written piece of their work.  Overall, technology has far more advantages than disadvantages and should be included in the classroom so students can have the opportunity to become familiar with it and use it to best portray their thinking!