Nets in the Classroom

The lesson plans of today must reflect innovation and creativity because the emphasis in education today is so one sided on tests and test results. Lesson plans must incorporate these aspects of learning in order to foster critical, and analytical thinking. Critical thinking, and rational analysis are not addressed by the present day emphasis of taking tests. The connectivity that the world wide web provides offers collaborative resources and contacts that are wide ranging and amazing in scope.This global connection is one that I would emphasize in all of my lesson plans, as a way to connect students with the world at large.

Higher Order Thinking

I intend to vault my students into the higher reaches of Blooms Taxonomy by making it a routine matter to utilize technology to complete assignments. Because of budget limitations, the Internet and other on-line educational resources are an efficient and cost effective tool to create school projects . By making such technological resources a part of the every day classroom experience, I am creating a classroom atmosphere that connects my students to a tremendous amount of research tools, and allows them to connect, and more importantly, collaborate with other students from around the world. This fostering of technology and the promotion of it as an essential element in the classroom, will pay long ranging dividends for my students. This long range thinking will prepare my students for the challenging future they face.

Internet resource for Educators and Students

The web site www.education-world.com is a free on line resource for both educators and students. It is designed and maintained by and for educators as a collaborative effort to create a online support resource. It has an easy to navigate page layout and has sections on: Lesson Planning, Professional Development, School Issues, and a special section for school administrators. It has a job listing section for networking on employment options, and on line tutorials in teacher education, math, science, language arts, and history. It has a well developed section devoted to technology integration in the classroom, where educators can share their experiences and success stories in real classroom situations. The professional development tab has RICA, CBEST, and CSET tutorials to help you pass the tests. This web site is a good example of using technology to break the isolation that teachers often feel in the classroom and connect with fellow educators on a world wide level.

Making the most of technology in the classroom

I believe that utilizing technology is central, and crucial, in the modern classroom because it reflects the reality of the world we live in. In many ways, the classroom is but a mirror image of society, condensed, but nevertheless reflective of the social conditions of society as a whole. The innate propensity for today's students to be "Tech-Savy", is a clear indication that the inclusion of technology in the classroom is a process that is irreversible. Technological advances have immense benefits both to educators and students. Few lament the demise of the typewriter, when compared with a word processing computer. The research power, and capability of the Internet gives access to awesome power, and has proven to be a mechanism for the decimation of ideas, and creativity, on a world altering scale. Yet, technology is not a magic elixir that vanishes all educational problems. While solving some of the educational issues of the past and making it easier to write a term paper, technology carries some inherent difficulties when applied to a classroom setting. Access to computer technology is still marred by social and economic inequalities. Lack of adequate funding creates huge differences in how technology is used in the classroom because there is so much difference between classrooms in different districts. Urban schools with high minority student populations suffer from broken, outdated and ll kept equipment, frequently installed incorrectly. Thus, the answer to how I would create a classroom that makes the most of technology, is predicated on the funding of the school, and the condition of the equipment in question. Only with these variables are factored in can the question be adequately answered.