"My Beliefs"

 I believe that technology integration is imperative. Teachers that refuse to use it in their classroom will quickly become obsolete. The UIN survey stresses the importance of not only designing authentic learning activities, but also spending the time to reflect and make educational decisions regarding technology. If we do not practice that ability now we will not have the time to when we actually hit the classroom. Our students deserve to have teachers who are proficient in the NETS*T Standards, and if they are not yet that should be one of their focuses during their training. Technology is not going to become easier to understand if it is ignored. You have to experiences it first hand before you teach it. All future teachers should have a spirit of discovery when it comes to technology, because that spirit will benefit their students when they enter the classroom.

Our students are growing up in this world, and when they are our age it will be even worse. By that time we will probably be used to having constant information all day everyday. In my mind this is not a healthy thing. Attention spans are becoming shorter, kids are used to being entertained all day, and since schools do not have funding they are lagging behind. Students are becoming bored quickly and losing their interest in learning. If we want to be able to effectively combat this technology needs to be used constantly. Students need to have opportunities to explore and use their skills in ways that are not mind numbing and useless. We as teachers need to show them how to use these technologies to learn, and we need to make them excited about that ability. There are so many resources available to us as teachers we just need to take advantage of them. If we want to reach our students we need to use technology. It is a huge part of their world.

One of my favorite points from the article is that many children believe that having the latest technology will make them happy, but we as adults know that it will not. We as their teachers owe it to them to help them understand this. By the time we are actually in the classroom they may have already developed this mindset. We need to give them opportunities to see that serving and engaging in personally meaningful actions are where true happiness are.  We cannot let the cycle of constant entertainment destroy their natural curiosity and ability to learn. We are on the front lines and if we do not accept the responsibility who will? Our students deserve the best and the best for them is to use the technology they love to teach them the information they need to know.