Week+1

=Week 1: The Beginning - = = =  This is an exciting topic for me because I teach many workshops for my district during the summer to address technology integration. I am very passionate about teaching teachers new ways to connect information for students. I feel especially concerned about the at risk and special needs students being able to succeed and feel successful so that they will continue their education and be able to become productive after high school. I was very touched by the story on page 5 in __**Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works**__ about the educators visiting the one-to-one district and the superintendent asking a special education student how the laptops have made a difference in the student's education. The student replied that because he was not a visual learner, and by using the laptop's speaking capabilities to be able to //**hear**// the words he has written, he can make the needed changes and be a successful student. The authors wrote that "his learning style had been controlled by his teachers, reflecting the way that they assumed he learned best" (Pitler et al. 2007). That really hit home with me and that's what I try to stress to those educators that are hesitant to embrace technology in their classrooms. Not only for special education students' needs, but for every student in every school district. Each one has different needs that must be met and technology is the easiest way to meet those needs.

I have already shared the NEW Bloom's Taxonomy that Solomon and Schrum pointed out in their book, __**Web 2.0 new tools, new schools**__, with my coworkers and my student teacher this semester. I also emailed my principal some of the more "impressive" statistics that both of these books, plus the other readings, have pointed out about technology integration improving not only student learning, but improving TAKS scores, as well. Most teachers are hesitant to incorporate technology simply because they believe it will take too much time to plan the lessons. And most educators have no time at all to spare. But by providing simple "ready to go" integration ideas that core teachers can take with them and make small, if any, modifications to the lesson, I believe that the teachers will be able to "see" the positive results and therefore become more excited about using technology. That's what I want to do for my district.