Technology in Education

I miss my laptop.

Those of you who know me well know that I was rarely without my laptop.  In the classroom, in my doctoral classes, sitting at home in my living room, even at Chick-fil-a, I had my laptop. I no longer have that laptop because it belonged to Irving ISD, my former employer.

Irving is very fortunate in the respect that they had the money and resources to embrach technology in the classroom. The school district spent an incredible amount of money on a laptop initiative that supplied every teacher and high school student with a laptop they could use to enhance their educational experience.  Some embraced this technology and moved forward, other did not. To each, their own.

However, in my new district, I am without a laptop.  Although I am no longer in the classroom, I still feel like I am without an arm.  Using technology to help students and fellow teachers became second nature to me as I am confortable with being creative with technology. I am also comfortable with exploring new technology and ways to improve instruction with the use of a computer.

Now, although the jury is still out on whether or not the use of technology in the classroom actually improves student learning, I still believe that school districts need to think about how they can fund and implement technology programs for their schools. Why? Because the future depends on it…

Consider this: DID YOU KNOW?

• Half of the students on my elementary campus were born in this decade…the ‘00
• Nne of my elementary school students know life without cell phones, MP3 players, or DVDs.
• 20% of my students were born after 9/11.
• Most of these students will be working in jobs that don’t exist yet

In other words, are our classrooms prepared for the world our students are entering?  Now, I know, it’s not all about technology; our kids still need social skills, need to be able to read and write, and need to understand “un-testable” concepts such as ethics, morality, and governance. Nonetheless, to apply these skills, they will need the technology skills to compete in our global market.

It is my hope that teachers will reach out to technology and embrace it for their students to use.  We need to move forward as a community of educators to share ideas and help one another learn the elements of technology in the classroom. The great thing about teachers is that there is always someone willing to share and teach some acquired knowledge to other teachers.  It’s just our nature.

I urge my fellow administrators to reach out to your staff and find out your experts and exploit their talents for the benefit of those who need the help.  I also urge my teachers to baby step your way into the world of technology and use the creative talents you already possess to introduce technology to your students.

If you are unsure where to begin, start with the Texas Computer Education Association. You can start here to learn from others who are using technolgy in the classroom and moving forward into the 21st century.  These people are great and can help the novice user or the expert.