Technology in the Classroom

Before last week, I had not thought very much about using technology in the classroom at all. I was in elementary school at a time before Facebook and Twitter, and I have always envisioned my future classroom being similar to the ones that I grew up in. Times have changed though (as cliche as that is,) and our classrooms have to change with them. Children are constantly exposed to technology outside of the classroom, and our classrooms have to compete with that. By using technology in our classrooms, we have the opportunity to help our students connect with the rest of the world while teaching them how to use technology PRODUCTIVELY. Instead of only using social networking sites for fun, we can show our students the many ways that these sites can help them learn.

Now, I am determined to incorporate technology in to my classroom, especially for writing. As we have discussed countless times, it is important for students to have a real audience for their writing. Through blogging and using resources such as #comments4kids, teachers can help their students reach a wider audience than ever before. Students have the opportunity to receive feedback from people who they would never have the opportunity to hear from otherwise, and they can use this feedback to grow in their writing.

Links:

50 Education Technology Tools Every Teacher Should Know About:

http://edudemic.com/2012/08/50-education-technology-tools-every-teacher-should-know-about/

A collection of technology resources for teachers. The links are categorized and there is a short link describing what each tool does and what teachers can use them for in the classroom.

How Are You Connecting Your Students with the World? Skype in the Classroom:

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/mock-elections-via-skype-suzie-boss

This article describes the ways that a teacher used Skype to connect her students with the world outside of her classroom.

7 Reasons to Leverage Social Networking Tools in the Classroom:

http://www.emergingedtech.com/2011/06/7-reasons-to-leverage-social-networking-tools-in-the-classroom/

This article advocates for the use of social networking in the classroom and gives specific reasons why it is beneficial for students.

Miss Night's Marbles:

http://missnightmutters.com/

A kindergarden teacher's blog. Miss Night blogs about day to day kindergarden events, but she ALSO blogged about her experience using Twitter in her classroom.