Chapter 1- Becoming an E-Teacher

Chapter 1 - Becoming an e-teacher  

Focus Question: What six key issues should a teacher consider when looking to integrate technology?

The six key issues are 1) Using technology in teaching, 2) Motivating factors, 3) Barriers to technology use, 4) Ideas for technology use, 5) Teaching methods, and 6) Students and technologies

When it comes to the first key issue of using technology in teaching, Id like to think that I would be very accepting and open to most any technology that would make my classroom more interactive and motivating to the students. According to the Rogers Innovation Curve I would rate myself as someone who is "quick to follow proven success" and thus an 'early adopter' because I am eager to integrate computers into teaching and do see a major benefit to doing so. We are living in the digital age and it's only progressing more so day by day. I believe that the old saying, 'keep up or get left behind' in this case holds true. Applying the new technology to the class room can aid in the classroom by offering different learning experiences, motivating otherwise disengaged students, creating situations of cooperative learning, and granting access to academic information from various sources. 

Not every road is an easy path to take and like all things there maybe some obstacles for teachers. Although the growth in internet-connection schools have doubled , technology spending has dropped twenty-four percent between 2001-2003 and has yet to rebound. It seems many classroom technology is locked in the past with computers that are out of date, limited program access, and software and even hardware incapability due to differences in memory and operating systems. As Henry Becker identified in the late 1990's, the factors preventing computer integration in classrooms are access, teaching schedules, curriculum coverage, and technology skills. Student centered teaching is a philosophy continuum where the goal is to create different experiences for students so the role of the teacher changes from that of the traditional style teacher centered philosophy, to where teachers create puzzles, ask questions, and engage in conversations with students. This allows students to learn key skills through their own exploration and discovery. As time passes more and more teachers are adapting the student centered teaching philosophy. Technology opens doors to otherwise unavailable in a traditional setting and since technology is a part of most every day life now students are more accepting of using new technologies.  

Tech tool:
This video is from a podcast thats all about technology. All though there are commercials at the beginning of the videos, their suggestions are very useful and there are a ton of videos with wide arrange of information. 

Summary- 

This chapter was very broad and covered many topics at once. Although this seemed overwhelming at times its also very insightful and informative. I understand the boundaries and difficulties a lower income school might have with acquiring access to technology with the decrease in spending over the past few years but with the new and strong movements of the digital age its necessary to have in classrooms. I hope to be able to implement a student centered teaching style to my classroom some day and with the aid of technology I believe it will be a positive experience for students. 

Resources:

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5