Which strategies are most effective for teaching and learning with technology?

I think that the most effective strategies for using technology in the classroom are to let the students learn through doing and to present the information on technology in a variety of all different ways so that every student becomes comfortable. I personally found it to be most helpful and effective when you had us go to our computers and tool around with the technology instead of only watching you go through the motions on the projection screen. We used that method for things like Blogger, wiki's and the podcasting software. I guess I would just like to know, in your experience, what you find are the best and most effective ways for teaching and learning with technology.

How can you effectively integrate technology into your teaching and learning?

There is a plethora of ways that I could incorporate technology into my classroom. Podcasting, Audacity software, Garage Band software, Google Earth, WebQuest's, Inspiration/Kidspiration, Wiki's and blogs are just a few of the things that we''re learned about that I could easily and effectively use in the classroom. One good way to use technology in the classroom is to ask the students what they like to do or use for technology. Since they are digital natives, they are automatically going to know much more than I do. This class, just in the few weeks that we've been together has given me enough ideas to implement technology into all six of my lesson plans and in my performance task. If I could learn anything, I would like to know what technology current middle and high schoolers are using day to day so I can plan around that.

Why might it be important for students to learn with technology?

As we talked about in class, it is critical to include technology in the classroom because our students will be digital natives (those who have technology all their lives) and will be accustomed to it and most comfortable with it. Another reason why technology in the classroom is important is because it allows for many different learning styles and intelligences to be incorporated into the learning process. It could help those who learn by doing, those who learn visually or those who learn mathematically, etc. It could also allow for students with physical, emotional and developmental disabilities to function more normally in a classroom. My group presentation on the SmartBoard and our class activity about diversity in the classroom and software such as the Audacity program and the braille program are specific examples of this. I would have to say that before this class, I didn't think I would need or want to incorporate technology into my classroom, but now I understand how crucial it is. Overall, I would just like to continue learning about more technology and how to use them in the classroom so that I have a very well rounded knowledge.