As an elementary educator in the 21st century, it is becoming more and more important to embed technology into lesson plans, activities, units, and every day tasks for both myself and my students. Technology is constantly evolving, and if I ignore it even for a little bit, I may be left behind. It can certainly be overwhelming, but I vow to keep my head above water and be the life preserver for anyone feeling like they cannot keep up. Whether this be students (not likely) or staff members that need a little help in moving forward and to not just feel comfortable treading water any more.
Taking a leap of faith can be overwhelming, so taking a few smaller steps can be very rewarding. This year I have made a list of some things that we can all do to help incorporate more technology into our own environment and into our classrooms. Everybody loves lists so I created my top ten ideas for increased technology use in education, but do not feel like you have to check off each item in the new year. These are merely suggestions for enhancing your classroom lessons and student motivation. Try one step at a time, and in no particular order.
1. Subscribe to an educators blog and vow to read it at least once per week. I have built into my schedule now a time to read my subscription blogs and time to write a blog as well. Here are a couple of great blogs to read for education. (www.speedofcreativity.org, www.ilearntechnology.com, and www.freetech4teachers.com)
2. Download Skype and connect with another classroom somewhere on Earth. I highly recommend joining Skype in the Classroom to help in making connections with other classrooms.
3. Create a Twitter or Facebook account and start your professional learning network (PLN) and start collaborating with educators around the world.
4. Attend a free webinar and learn something new for free and from the comfort of your own home.
5. Investigate a new handheld device and find a few ways to use them in the classroom. Allow your students to become the investigators and evaluators for the apps too!
6. Start a blog, wiki, threaded discussion or a web page that is interactive with your students. You'd be surprised how much students will participate in classroom discussions away from the regular classroom.
7. Publish a video, podcast or photo set to an Internet site to share. Don't forget to comment on somebody else's published work while you are there too!
8. Enroll in an online class, or start your own online class with your students.
9. Design a unit with project based learning with multimedia for your classroom. This sounds like a lot, and I won't lie, it is a big step. It is truly worth it though if the time to plan and setup is used effectively. In the first year, don't be afraid to have students come up with the project, help in planning and creating a rubric for a finished product. It's your first year, take baby steps, and then as a whole class (students included) tweak the steps along the way.
10. Read a book about technology in education. Better yet, download an ebook to your favorite mobile device and incorporate two ideas from the book into your classroom. Don't forget to reflect on this with your peers, PLN, or on your web page or blog!
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