The other day I went to visit a teacher from my sons' school. She asked me what I was learning this semester. I told her about my technology class. I started bring up the use of smart boards and Web 2.0. She said that she did not feel as though all that stuff needed to be done in the class room. This is when I decided this could be a teaching moment. I spent the next twenty minutes telling her all about he benefits available using Web 2.0. I told her that the computer in her class is not a computer but a window to many educational places. All of which can be tied into the lesson plan. I told her that children are learning about this new technology and it make learning fun. We as teacher need to be on the front end of this train guiding them in a educational way. I do not know if she felt any different but I showed her some cites and gave her some ideas. I will find out if it took when I see her again.
One last thing we need to remember is that when it comes to teaching it is about the student. We have an obligation to them. We need to make sure that we am preparing the students for the real world. Today's real world uses technology. If we do not learn how to use this new information and how to relay it to our students we will be the ones who have suffered, and our students will be the ultimate victim.
I agree that we need to know how to use this technology especially because our students will learn it outside of the classroom and may view the classroom as outdated and therefore irrelevant to the real world. If we want to keep our students interested in education, we have to demonstrate that what they are learning is applicable to their lives.
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