Time for Reflection

Over the course of the semester, I have learned so much about how technology can be used in the classroom with students of various needs. We covered topics on virtual world accessibility, instructional technology, assistive technology, low tech and high tech products, bookmarking, ergonomics, and the list goes on and on. I have bookmarked alot of the sites. I feel that I have a "bag of technology tricks" that I can take into the classroom as I graduate and become a first year teacher. During the semester, I found out two things about myself.

1. I need to become more up to date about technology. There's so much that I didn't know about (ex. using PowerPoint as an interactive curriculum, using Kurzweil 3000, various bookmarking sites, just to name a few).
2. There is alot of technology out there that we can use to enhance our students' learning (ex. Boardmaker, Photo Story, Interactive Whiteboards, just to name a few).

Some powerful words that I have heard during the semester were "Technology is not a privilege. It is a right." and "Technology is not about the stuff. It's about the people." After taking this course, I have learned that there are alot of technology out there that we can incorporate into the curriculum. Even with this wealth of existence of technology, there are still countries, neighborhoods, schools, and homes that do not have access to technology. We need to work on providing access to technology to all students. It is also important to remember that technology is not just another extra expensive item that the school may be reluctant to provide. It is a tool that is integrated into the curriculum to meet the needs of the individual students and to help enhance their learning opportunities.

I would like to end with the quote by John Dewey - "If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow."