Educators are not using technology to create classroom strategies in order to meet educational standards

Lets start saying, the power of technology as a learning tool/aid will not be effective unless educators have the training and sufficient skills to use computers and the Internet to improve students' achievement. I have come over many recent studies underscore the need for developing educators skills and knowledge in using technology to support higher- order thinking and problem- solving skills. The educators should be more comfortable and effective with technology to use it at all , at the same time , educators who are competent with technology are more likely to use it effectively. Thus, will occur when all schools provide educators with reasonable opportunities for training to become capable in using technology in classroom to improve instruction and help students to develop higher-order thinking and problem solving skills. Educators must be trained and have time to practice what they have learned through teaching- based technology. I think it's not sufficient to learn technology rather than how to use and teach others what had been learned, and be capable to integrate it in the classroom, give students opportunity to engage and involve a thoughtful discussion while they are doing their activities. Now as technology continues to evolve and students become more savvy , the computer is an even more powerful and effective learning tool that enhances collaboration and communication in the classroom. Educators should take the advantage of this tool and start using it in classroom to enhance students' achievement during the lesson. Therefore, technology is changing the way students learn , get knowledge, interact with peers and acquire information. A classroom integrated with technology is an environment where students and educators collaborate, interact and communicate. However, teaching strategies that engage and involve students were effective in accomplishing technology integration, such as using technology as an instructional tool applicable to classroom setting, educators facilitation and management of learning environment in the classroom, for example, Internet technology as a tool for instruction , like discussion board and chat rooms allow students an equal environment in which to participate in class discussion, and also extend learning outside the classroom, this tool is a free resource of knowledge that many educators are using to communicate with students to discuss syllabus topics for their classes. According to what have been reviewed on line , most writers are putting great emphasis on technology integration in the classroom along with the standards laid down by The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and The International Society for Technology in Education (NCATE and ISTE), I disagree with above statement that educators are not using technology to create classroom strategies. Educators are trying their best to integrate different technological tools to enhance students' achievement in the classroom, such technologies are:- computer,s smart boards, projectors, video tapes and multi media, knowing that old graduate educators need more development in using technologies than the new graduates. Since the Government ( Educational Departments) is pending lot of money to supply schools with necessary technologies to improve students' skills to meet the ISTE standards and future challenging. Using Technology became a distinguished tool for modern development and became a must.



Reference:
Http:// www.nsdc.org/library
Http:// www.iste.org/content
Http:// www.kn.pacbell.com/wire Http:// www.web54.sd54.k12

Saturday, 11/08/2008 11:43 AM by Osman Ahmed
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Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning

Evaluating Instructional websites

please click this link Criteria
With the advent of world Wide Webs and huge amount of information that's contained there, students need to be able to evaluate a web page for design, navigability, authority, bias, citation, dates, contents and links, handicapped and relevance. The ability to evaluate information is an important skill in this information era. Accordingly the most important factor when evaluating the websites is your search, your needs. What we are using the web for? Sports? Entertainment? Or Academic work? Therefore, as teachers we must be able to evaluate the quality of the website we will be bringing into our classroom. Good educational websites have certain criteria the teacher must consider before introducing them to the students. Many websites found on Internet can be of low educational value and shouldn't be used in a classroom setting. If the educational website to be used in the classroom, the content should be without particular commercial, political, gender or racial bias, the teacher must address the bias in a classroom. In order to help the reader understands how to apply the given criteria, I navigated the following the websites and chose the first one as an example:-
u Http://www.funschool.com
u Http://www.edchange.org
u Http://www.education.gov
Funschool.com is an educational website targets kids from pre-school age to grade six. The
Primary purpose for this site is teaching children different subjects, such as Mathematics,
Geography, Science, and Ecology. The website has recently updated. For my personal opinion, I like this website and I recommend it for class use. The funschool.com is well
organized and it is easy to navigate through the pages and links are relevant to the topics and clearly marked, colored and easily take the user to the new page. The site’s content is appropriate for the targeted kids as well as the texts, graphics and the language use, and free from spelling mistakes, grammatical and syntax errors. Funschool.com is also free from commercial, political and gender bias. I did not notice any option for handicapped to help them easily access the website. In general funschool.com is very for suitable for six grade students because it includes a lot of games, coloring and doing activities suitable for lower grade students.
References:
u Http://www.funschool.com
u Http://www.edchange.org
u Http://www.education.gov
u Http://www.memebers.fortune.com
u Http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework