Technology+Integration

 This assignment was a brief introduction into the world of technology integration. There were many videos on different school's that had integrated a piece of the technology world into the classrooms at the school. I needed to watch one video and then comment on how I felt about the school and it's choice on that particular way of integrating the technology into the school.
 * __Technology Integration__ **

I just watched “Project Learning: Expeditions in Portland, Maine.” While I feel that this school is on the leading edge of technology use and integration. I also feel that this model is unachievable across the United States. I really enjoyed how the teachers were able to work together and have a massive collaborating process. This collaboration will prepare these students for the real world where they will need to be well rounded and be able to tackle problems from many different angles. The students are also given the chance to work with many other students and expected to use technology to its fullest extent. From just watching the video, I could see students using laptops, MS Word, MS PowerPoint and hand power tools. While this is amazing that technology integration is possible at this level of schooling, it is still ridiculous to expect that this model can be applied across the United States.

A quick Google search showed that King Middle School in Portland, Maine has high community involvement, high property value taxes and low student to teacher ratios. A school in Denver would not be able to pull technology integration off in the same manner that King Middle school has. The graduation rates in Denver are low enough that the school would be losing more money on stolen computers than any other expense. While I applaud the efforts of King Middle school, technology integration in Denver Public Schools would probably top out around a computer and projector in every classroom.

I strongly agree that technology needs to be used in the classroom more than it ever has. I just finished my second field experience at Jefferson Middle School and I had the great privilege in working with one of the leading teachers that has integrated smart boards into their classrooms. She meets once a month with other teachers and the creators of the smart board to discuss different techniques used in the classroom and improvements on what they have already implemented. I too plan on using a smart board in the classroom. Being able to stand at the board and not have to constantly walk between the computer and the board to change screens or scroll up and down is so helpful. It is also a great addition to the classroom because teachers do not need to keep buying dry erase markers. Screen images can be saved and then uploaded to a teacher’s website. I plan on having a website that has everything posted and is accessible to the parents as well as the students. I believe a parent will have less questions when they can just log onto the internet from work or home and download their students grade and homework that they recently missed. 