Technology+Integration+Essay

====**Reflection: This essay was a great way to describe the usefuleness of the website, http://www.edutopia.org/video. This website contains numerous videos which can be applied when incorporating technology in any classroom. There is a wide variety of videos that can help teachers of all grades and subjects. **====

Technology Integration Essay

June 14, 2011

Out of all the videos I saw on the website provided to us, my favorite was “Connecting High School to College and Career”. One of the main reasons why I liked this video the most is because my goal is to teach high school students. The concern shown in this video is that many high school students are dropping out of high school because it does not interest them or they think it is useless for their future. What some schools are doing to resolve this problem is to incorporate technology into the classrooms; giving the students activities which simulate real jobs. This way, students feel that what they are learning in the classroom is useful and interesting. The students at these academies are exposed to subjects that they would usually learn in a lecture but instead they are modified into real life situations with technology interaction. Instead of sitting through lectures wondering how any of it will help them in life, and if there is even a point of going to college, students can participate, create and interact.

Through several videos, I have seen the importance technology integration in today’s classrooms. Today’s children and teenagers are being brought up in the midst of technology, they are growing up with many high speed devices and programs which make their demand for more advanced and high passed activities superior. It is harder for them to sit in a classroom writing notes and listening to the teacher for long periods of time without much interaction. With technology, we as teachers can increase their interest and work efficiency by using tools that will be compatible with their attention span. As I prepare myself to become a Spanish high school teacher, I would like to make learning the language as much engaging and least dull as possible. I could find or design interactive activities which simulate real life situations and conversations in order for them to practice their Spanish. I would like to integrate technology by doing in and outside of class, online activities to help them exercise rather than just repeat grammar and vocabulary. What I am thinking for the activities is to have programs online to set up on the smart board, in which there would be Spanish peaking characters who would talk to students; with a microphone, the students could talk back to the character, simulating a real life conversation.