Integrating Technology

Why use technology in the classroom? Is it really an effective learning tool or are there problems that may arise by integrating the Internet into the classroom? The article by Melissa Kelly shares concerns, but also gives solutions. The Internet is never going away, in fact I am sure the newest technology will be the bulk of how students are taught in the future. In the mean time teachers need to be aware of the problems that they will be confronted with by using the Internet as a teaching tool. Cheating, parental objections, plagiarism, and time are just several of the concerns that the article discusses. The time concern really relates to my challenges of using technology in my classroom. My eight year old son can probably navigate through the Internet better than I can. It takes me forever to learn new techniques on the computer and I don't know if I will have the time to implement technology into my classroom on top of being a mother, wife, and fulfill all my other teaching duties. However, the article suggests trying one project a year, which is something that I think I can handle. I am aware that sooner rather than later I need to get over my fears because technology being implemented into every classrooms is inevitable. I do think that computers can be an assest to the learning student if integrated correctly and used after addressing all other concerns that go along with using the Internet in the classroom. I also believe that children are truly intersted in computers and this can be an easy way of getting children excitied about learning.