How Technology Adds Value to Education

Blog 1:  Describe the importance of the using a variety of instructional strategies and the value they add to education of students in the 21st century.  Evaluate the role technology plays in the implementation of various instructional strategies.  How will this impact your teaching of students in the 21^st century? 

In the 21st century, our students are technology natives.  We need to incorporate technology use into as much of our daily lessons as we possibly can.  For example, if you follow the EEI model of teaching, you should use technology in your objective, rationale, direct instruction, guided practice, closure, and independent learning.  Research has clearly shown that students must be engaged to successfully learn anything.  So whatever strategy we are using, it must be hands on, enticing, and provided with a clear rationale.  Along with a solid rationale, data should also be used within classrooms periodically, showing knowledge growth etc.  Either way, as educators, we need to focus on making learning fun and valuable to our students.  Hopefully, as the years go by, we will get better and better at this, making school a happy experience rather than something students dread.

Some specific strategies that you can use include, but are not limited to, cooperative learning structures (there are so many I will not even list them, if you want to know all of them e-mail me or visit the site kagan.com, it is amazing), debates, jigsaw, scavenger hunts, postcard field trips, field trips, chunk and check, and research projects to name a few.  The importance of incorporating these into your classroom is because it truly does make your students feel that learning is fun, important, and valuable.  Your students usually learn social skills throughout these processes as well, which is a bonus.  To enhance these teaching strategies, you should also add technology in.  You can do this via blogging, having students create PowerPoints, using smart boards, iPads, researching the Internet, utilizing web 2.0 sites, podcasting, using scientific calculators in math, having students use their cell phones to text their opinions on a topic to their classmates or paraphrase key topics, using CPS responders to go over data, quizzes, and tests (especially benchmark tests), and computer study islands to name a few.  Technology incorporation is limitless, which is the beauty of it all.  Changing classroom setting to follow these, or similar, strategies will impact not only the teachers, but also the students.  Learning will actually take place, smiles will be on faces, teachers will not be as exhausted (because usually during these strategies students are teaching each other, while teachers are monitoring), and students will learn how to socially interact with one another, preparing them for their futures.  This is definitely a win-win situation!

The following website has a lot of fun teaching strategies that you all might enjoy adding into your classroom, as well as myriad other techniques and advice!
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.html

Also, this newspaper article, is very intersting, asking the quesiton "can I teach effectiviely using technology?"
http://www.mmdnewswire.com/importance-of-technology-in-education-this-weeks-topic-on-the-gateway-to-21st-century-skills-16740.html