Journal #7

“Technology integration: What Happens Now?” by Linda Merillat, Jennifer Holvoet, and Doug Adams.

In the article it is mentioned that as technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives, schools are left with the challenge of determining whether and how best to integrate this ever-changing landscape into their classrooms. 4Teachers.org, which is hosted by ALTEC, works to help teachers integrate technology into their classrooms by offering free online tools and resources. The site’s very popular tools include TrackStar, QuizStar, and RubiStar, which can be used to create ready-to-use Web lessons, quizzes, and rubrics.
For 10 years, the U.S. Department of Education founded a nationwide initiative called the Regional Technology in Education Consortia (R*Tec). Mentoring or coaching is a powerful form of professional development for novice and veteran teachers alike. Organizations now train the trainers instead of directly training teachers at the school level. With funding going to the states, state leadership will need to take a more aggressive role in ensuring that teachers have the needed skills.

1. How can teachers use technology to support diverse learners? The focus should be on differentiated instruction –a teaching theory based on the idea that instructional approaches should give students multiple options for taking information, making sense of ideas, expressing what they learn, and accommodating differences while teaching to students strengths and knowledge.

2. How can we teachers get prepared for the new opportunities that will arrive by the students’ access to technology all the time? Teachers should get trained with mentors and coaches. They also have to be aware of the diversity of teachers, children, and their families, thus include into their educational technologies like multimedia, video, and telecommunications packages, the theme of culture.