I believe that my opinions about technology integration in the classroom have become more realistic in the last 10 weeks. Before this class, I saw web 2.0 technology as being on its way to replacing the teacher in the classroom. Now, however, I would give the opinion that web 2.0 technologies are allowing teachers to be more efficient, deliver a greater diversity of materials, better meet the needs of the students, and increase communication between schools and families. A computer can't replace teachers, only supplement them.
During the past 10 weeks, my personal feelings towards new social and educational technologies has improved; I had never tweeted, blogged, heard of a Webquest, watched an online conference, or seen an electronic whiteboard, and, now, those technologies have become an arsenal of potential tools to help me deliver content to students in an interesting and meaningful way. Very Exciting!
If I could say one facet of Web 2.0 technology impacted my opinion about the online world in general, it would be the way it brings disparate groups of people together and brings them together as a single community. Whether it is teachers and students collaborating across oceans and continents, or new teachers being able access the lesson plans and pedagogic techniques of experienced educators, the Internet is now allowing any group of similarly interested individuals to pool their intellectual resources together to provide a better educational experience for students.
Technology integration into the classroom is absolutely essential. Web 2.0 tools are going to be part of the essential job skills that today's learners in K-12 will need to be successfully employed in the future. Before this class, I would have said integration is essential, but I would not have had as clear an understanding about what integrating technology in a classroom means. Integration is about more than simply having high speed access and laptops for every student; integration means that the lessons themselves integrate technology in a meaningful way to offer students a more comprehensive, higher quality educational experience than was every possible before.
