How Will You Teach? Incorporating Technology

A few ways that I plan on using technology in my future elementary classroom are:

• SMART board - having an interactive whiteboard in the classroom expands so many new possibilities for lessons and ways to keep students intrigued. I hope that this tool is included in my future classroom, but if not I will do my best to find a way to get one into my room. By the time I have my own classroom, hopefully the interactive whiteboard programs will improve and become even better than they are now.
• Classroom Wiki - In the older elementary grades allowing students to be in charge and manage a classroom wiki can have lists of benefits. I want my students to know how to use this technology, but also be able to share what they are learning with others globally. Had this been included in my elementary education I would be much more comfortable using different forms of technology today.
• Skype - I love the idea of communicating with other classrooms and possibly even influential people over the internet. If my classroom is doing a reading unit, for example, the opportunity to talk to the author in real time would be exciting for me and my students. Communicating with other classrooms across the world when working on a unit and collaborating on a project would make the information more real and tangible for students.

Professor Boyer stressed the use of Scratch in the classroom because it is so simple to personalize games for students who need extra practice. I'm not opposed to using Scratch in my classroom, it was just not in my top 3. I think that Scratch program would allow teachers (and students) to develop games that apply to their interests even outside of school while including educational information. A resource that we talked about was "iTunes U". The iTunes application allows teachers to listen to educational podcasts that can help with professional development. Another interesting point brought up was that many textbook publishing companies are introducing online textbooks. I personally do not want to read information on a computer screen and I'm sure some students may find that difficult as well. I do think that it is worth it though to invest in these online books. I loved the idea of having students record screencasts documenting their reading levels at different points of the year and sharing that with parents. Students could be able to examine how they have progressed which I think would prove very rewarding for everyone involved.