Bring on the Technology

What an amazing time to live! There are endless amounts of creativity an educator can use to help students thrive. I wonder what really makes a good teacher. I am now convinced using technology is an important step in becoming the teacher that I want to be. I am amazed each week as I take in the video of the week. The videos and this class have given me great knowledge of things I didn't know before. As I watched the video this week I wondered if any schools were using the technology the author promoted. I know Oprah uses Skype and it is a free service. I would love to see these tools actually used in the school setting. I feel like I have all these big dreams for my classroom but how much am I really going to be allowed to use. Where there is a will there is a way. It may not be a reality for each student to have their own computer but I will have one. Hopefully it will work with some applications to hook up to the projector, and do things together as a class.
Even young students are ready for technology. I work with a Kindergartener. Everyday we play a number game on the computer. I usually set the computer up for her but a few times she wanted to try to set it up. With a few instructions she set it up perfectly. She likes to explore with the computer. For instance she types the wrong numbers in the answer on purpose just so she can use the backspace button to erase it. She isn't the least bit afraid or intimidated by the computer and she is a tiny little thing. This generation is more than ready for technology tools. I sure hope we can give the technology to them. Education continues to get the axe with budget cuts! It will be up to us, as educators, to find ways to fund these tools. Maybe we could start a pilot program and compare results of the students that use technology tools vs old fashioned learning. If I am going to dream I may as well dream big. If it becomes too much of an obsticle someone should start a school that utilizes all the wonderful tools there are available out there.