Reflective Blog Assignment 1

My blog about technology and student achievement: 

·       According to the research article, Factors affecting technology integration in K-12 classrooms:  a path model, by Fethi A. Inan and Deborah L. Lowther, some of the factors that positively influence technology integration in the classroom are proper training and ongoing support, teachers’ computer proficiency, teachers’ beliefs about the impact of technology on student learning, teachers’ feelings of readiness to incorporate technology, and computer availability.

·       One way I can ensure that my students are learning in a current technological environment is to make sure I get trained and keep current on technologies for the classroom.  The middle school I subbed for has technology training about once a month.  They also offer support days once a week for teachers with questions or who want to learn to use a particular software or hardware item.  I often took advantage of the training sessions as well as the support days (during my planning period).  Staying educated about technology and using it is really the driving force behind all the factors ensuring positive technology results in the classroom.

·        I’m sure there are many ways to evaluate the success of a lesson involving technology.  The way I would evaluate it is to compare previous year’s assessments (which didn’t utilize the technology being introduced) to the current assessment of a lesson involving the new technology.  I might also use prelesson and post lesson assessments, as well as student feedback, as ways to evaluate the medium I am using to teach my lesson. 

·        I believe it is essential to communicate with colleagues, administrators, and school board members about successes and failures of incorporating technology.  One of the best teachers is mistakes/failures.  If we share not only our successes but also our failures with one another, it gives us better direction.  This information can be shared in many ways including meetings, but having a central place (discussion boards, Wiki's, blog pages, Google Docs, etc.) to post this kind of information within the school district would be very advantageous.  I don’t think our school district currently has such a “place.”