Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I love educational technology...NOT!

The current course that I am taking for my Master's degree has forced me to dive deeper into technology than I have ever, ever wanted to!  Within this course, I have developed online portfolios, created web pages, created and posted online lesson plans (Webquests), and participated in online discussion groups.  Who knew that teaching students incorporated so much technology?  Surely not me, however, I am thankful for being forced to learn these things because incorporating technology is not only important for today's students to learn to do, but it is also a national requirement.  Thus, it will be my job to try to make my students love technology, while I clearly do not.  This is a problem, so I must change my ways of thinking about technology.

Through evaluating, examining, and creating technological resources, I have learned that the Internet is not as overwhelming as it seems.  While it may be tough to learn to manipulate technological resources the first few times that you try them, once you figure them out, you know from then on how to do those things.  Thanks to educational technology, I can now upload, download, research, and publish materials in a way that would not be possible without the knowledge that I have gained from experimenting with the Internet.   

For me, the best way to learn to complete technological tasks is by experimenting.  While experimenting, I have found it best to welcome any guidance and advice that is available (for me, this involves collaboration with teachers and classmates).  Such support is irreplaceable, and it can save a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent experimenting.  Furthermore, I have found it best to always ask questions when I am unsure because it never hurts to ask.  If I can't get my questions answered, then I MUST experiment.  While experimenting, however, I am sure to never forget that there is almost always an "undo" or a "back" button that allows me to remove or correct mistakes.