Updated belief statement: Teaching with technology

My ideas about teaching with technology has been greatly improved and grown. I still believe technology is a great way to get students actively engaged in their learning. However, I've learned of multiple ways to use technology in an elementary classroom. At the beginning of this course, I thought the best way to incorporate technology into an elementary classroom was allowing students to play drill games at a computer center. Recently I've been exposed to stop motion videos, online publishing, blogging, digital storytelling, podcasts, clickers, and other technology tools. All of these tools can be used in the classroom. Teachers need to be creative and think of ways to use technology in a way that isn't just a drill game.

In other words, the students need to be learning with technology. This idea has taken me a whole semester to fully understand. Manipulating technology isn't meaningful learning unless students are connection and building knowledge. Technology is a wonderful addition to the classroom that helps extend students' knowledge. When teachers allow students to use technology, students are given a purpose and can become the authors, experts, or presenters. Technology doesn't have to just be a unique way to present a lecture. At the beginning of the school year, I thought incorporating technology was a way to get students to express themselves in a new way. This is on the right track! However, technology isn't just an artistic aid. Teaching with technology means raising the level of interest and intelligence in the classroom. I'm meeting the needs of my future students. I'm including things that they are good at in my curriculum and showing them how to use these tools in ways that will help them become better learners and have a deeper understanding of the material.