My Goals for Incorporating Technology into the Classroom

In my previous post I mentioned how out of touch I am with technology (an understatement). My lack of knowledge is not just limited to the type of technology that is used in the classroom, it applies to almost all aspects of my life. In middle school all my friends had iPods to download their music and I would hold a tape recorder up to YouTube to make a playlist (not kidding). Recently, when it became illegal in Georgia to talk on the phone while driving I have adopted the practice of using the speaker option rather than try and figure out the bluetooth feature. So goals… Yes I think it is incredibly important for me to set some goals for myself and for my future students.

The image posted above is a collage I made using Kizoa. The images represent what comes to my mind when I think of technology in the classroom, along with how I have let my fear of learning about technology hold me back. I have 3 goals for using technology in the classroom:

1. I need to make sure that I have a solid understanding of how to use the technology that we have access to. This may seem obvious, but I have seen teachers be unable to answer a student’s question during a computer lesson. This resulted in the teacher having to take time out of teaching and get another student to help the first student before they were able to move on. Students look up to us as educators and I feel like (while not always the case) but not being able to answer basic technology questions can lose us credibility.
2. I want to make sure that the technology I incorporate into my classroom is relevant and engaging. The use of technology is a great way to differentiate teaching and have lessons that caters to multiple learning styles. I hope to fill my metaphorical “toolbox” with several resources using technology.
3. The technology that I use in my classroom needs to be relevant to teaching. I have been guilty of using technology just for the purpose of saying I used it during a lesson. If the students aren’t gaining information relevant to what we are learning in class then I don’t feel like it is serving its purpose.