Some Valuable Links on Integrating Technology into the Classroom

I must admit that, as a prospective teacher and more of a traditionalist, the rapidly changing world of technology and its integration into the classroom has made me a bit anxious. However, over the past couple of semesters I have been learning a lot about the usefulness of technology in the classroom, and my obdurate resistance has begun to weaken.

My biggest concerns were with students wasting time on sites like Facebook and the such. As a student myself, I've witnessed first-hand just how distracting those types of things can be in class. I can't count the number of times I've seen students spend an entire lecture perusing Facebook. However, I've come to realize that this is only a minor concern and it can be controlled, for the most part, pretty easily. There are many positive reasons to use technology in the classroom, and I shouldn't let my personal distaste for social media hinder the opportunity to create an engaging and effective lesson.

I'd like to use the rest of this short blog to share several informative and helpful links that I've found online recently that pertain to the subject at hand. For instance, this slideshow that I found on slideshare.com gives 10 reasons to integrate technology in the classroom. You will notice that their first reason listed is that 'students love it.' This is such a simple idea, but it couldn't be more true. Teaching to the youth's fascination with technology is a great way to successfully get them engaged in a lesson.

Where as the slideshow offers reasons to integrate technology in the classroom, this short youtube video I discovered suggests different methods and ways to use it, specifically in the language arts classroom, which is what I plan to teach.


And lastly, I found this progressive and highly informative article on scribd.com that discusses the importance and implementation of technology in the classroom in great detail.  It posits that a classroom transformation needs to take place, in which we move away from the teacher centered method, to an interactive, student centered classroom with the use of technology.