The Article “Teacher vs. Computer: Where Educators Stand in the Technology Revolution,” by Jacqueline Keane from T.H.E. Journal (August 2002) presents ideas on how technology can enhance a classroom.  Keane demonstrates how technology in the classroom can not only enrich the curriculum, but also gives teachers a great new resource.  Technology will be a great tool in the classroom of the future; this article explains the importance of infusing it with current instruction in schools.  

In the article, Keane states, “As my students and I use instructional technology to enrich our learning experiences, we find there are many new skills that need to be taught.”  I think that this is the most important point of the article.  Even though schools have technology in classrooms and labs, that does not necessarily mean that teachers know how to use it.  If teachers do not know how to use it, then how will our students learn?  In my opinion, technology is a great tool, but teachers must be very educated about how to use technology in the classroom.  I think it is just as important for teachers to become as educated about technology and how to use it as the students are.  I think future teachers now have a great start with the technology classes that are offered in college; however, I think it is very important as a future educator that I keep up to date with the information by continuing my education with technology.

The article also talks about how technology can enrich the curriculum.  I agree that technology can and will become one of the greatest tools in the classroom for teachers.  I envision my students using PowerPoint, video, and other technologies to create amazing class presentations and also find ways to use technology to help them with everyday schoolwork.  I feel that I can take a proactive stand in my classroom by offering my students different ways to use technology in their work.  I also feel that by understanding and knowing the technology I am allowing them to use, I am able to help them even more.  As Keane reminds the reader, “technology by definition is ever changing.”  Therefore, I must make sure that my understanding and the way I use technology in my curriculum is ever changing.

Other ideas from the article that I found interesting were the ideas that Keane had for helping with lesson plans.  Using the Internet as a way to develop lesson plans seems like a great idea.  I can only imagine that there is a limitless amount of information on lesson plans which is shared on the Internet.  I think that by using the Internet to find a lesson plan, a teacher can spend more time finding ways to develop it to best fit his or her classroom or students’ needs.  I see the Internet as becoming a great tool for creating my own lesson plans in the future.

I found the information in this article very useful for my future classroom.  I have found that after reading this article that it is important as an educator to understand how to use technology to help find ways to enrich my curriculum, and create better lesson plans.  I will use technology as much as possible in my future classroom.

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