My Technology Teaching Philosophy

"The principle goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done."
~ Jean Piaget
I believe it is important as an educator to keep learning and continue to modify your approach to find the best ways to relate material to your students. Our world is constantly being influenced by technology and I believe it is crucial to use that technology to improve educational strategies. As a future educator, I plan to not only learn from the experience of current professionals, but also to keep up on new innovations and incorporate them in my classroom. Today’s generation is immersed in the rapidly changing world of technology. It is something they are constantly using at every moment, whether it be texting, instant messaging, e-mailing, facebooking, or listening to their iPods, it is a significant part of their lives. It has become their mode of communication and it is engraved in almost everything they do. What better way to teach someone than to speak in their language. I think it is atrocious that with all the technology we have today, most of our classrooms are generally the same as 100 years ago. I believe that students should be taught using webquests, emails, creative computer programs, PowerPoint, movies, discussion boards, social networking sites, podcasts etc. There are so many opportunities available at our fingertips if we would just put them to use. You can find almost anything on YouTube today to help make your lesson realistic. For example, if you're teaching a text that takes place in Pakistan, show your student Pakistan or create a social networking program with a school in Pakistan. There are so many exciting ways to use technology in the classroom to engage students and to authenticate learning and I plan to utilize them in every way possible.
Furthermore, technology in the classroom is not only necessary to engage students, but it is an essential tool for the future. Every day our