My views of technology in the classroom have dramatically changed since the beginning of this semester. When I came in, my views of technology integration were parallel with what I remembered from elementary school. Most of my memories of using technology in the classroom consisted of writing out journal entries on an early form of Microsoft Word, playing a math game, or spending my free time on Oregon Trail. While these could all be easily argued as beneficial uses of technology (especially for the mid-late 90s), it was a rare treat that we actually got to use the computer. I have been constantly impressed with how much simpler technology integration is now, as opposed to when I was a child.

Beyond my surprise at the surplus of technology in current classrooms, I found it interesting to see how easily it is to use technology just to meet the requirements. This class taught me that it is important to use technology to do something that you could not do if you did not have a computer or iPad in front of you. I was interested to see that how the use technology changed an entire lesson. Through the lessons that I observed online and in class, it was apparent how much more exciting learning became when I knew I got to explore something new on my own through a website or tool on the computer. The only thing I am still unsure about is, how can we use these websites in classrooms where there are only 2-4 computers, much like almost all of the AISD classrooms I have observed?

This whole question has been a reoccurring theme for me throughout the semester. I am always left thinking, “this is so great, but how can I use any of it if I don’t have the resources?” It’s an interesting question to ask, and I believe that over the years technology will become more and more apparent in the classroom. Only time will tell how my use of technology will pan out with limited resources, but I am certain that I will make an effort to include a plethora of activities that involve technology in my future classroom.

I am unsure as to whether or not I agree with the overarching theme of this article. In the summary, it says that one of President Obama’s goals is to increase the number of people going to college. Half of me wholeheartedly agrees with this mentality, but then the other half is left wondering, “is that the only use for schools?” It might be the idealist in me, but I think that schools should be used for learning for personal satisfaction and wellness and not only for, “economic growth and prosperity.” The main goal of learning should not be to create a new generation of people who can take care of the country as we grow older, but rather to create a generation that seeks out knowledge and learning which, in turn, will more than likely bring about a generation with new, great ideas. As teachers, I think we need to teach children to, “learn to think,” much like St. Edward’s has been teaching us in the years we have been in college.

The question then is, how do we manage this idea with standards? The article points out ways we can, “redesign structures and processes for effectiveness, efficiency, and flexibility,” and it cites that technology will help with that. I think this whole idea of including technology into the classroom is extremely beneficial to managing the idea of promoting thinking, while still meeting standards. It allows for more personalized lessons and give students an opportunity to see materials taught in a way that might make more sense to them. Since technology is becoming more and more readily available, it also offers students techniques for learning through technology either on their home computer or at a local library. Ultimately, technology creates a better classroom for both teacher and student, and will hopefully help to make it easier for us as future teachers to teach for the students, rather than for the test.