How to intergrate technology into the classroom

The 21st century has seen a lot of technological changes. What is hot and exciting one day is cold and boring the next. Many teachers are having a hard time learning or trying to keep up with the technology. Most (not all) of the teachers that have the biggest problem are the ones that have taught 15+ years. Some of these teachers still believe that good research sources only come from the library, not from both the library and Internet. Instead of only going to workshops to learn new techniques and ideas for teaching, teachers should now also use the a newer source, their students. By using their student as a "tool" to learn about new technologies, it keeps the teacher from looking "outdated" along with giving the student a sense of equality with the teacher. The 4 examples that are given in the article include, Wikipedia, IM, pod casting, and camera phones.

1. Wikipedia - it is a good site to get the search started for your project. This site is good for finding out the basic facts, get pictures, and get an idea of what you want to focus on and where to look next. Wikipedia is not to be used as a primary source for the reason that everyone can add items to it.
2. IM - this could be used in the class for answering online polls. It could be used as their "ticket" out the door. You can also use IM to text a question to a number and receive an answer later on.
3. Podcasts - this is really good for listening to or performing interviews over the net.
4. Camera phones - everyone is using camera phones for something everyday. These would be good for an art/science class to use for projects.

Technology, besides computers, Internet, PowerPoint, are useful in the classroom. The teacher just needs to find new and fun ways to bring it into the classroom whether or not the teacher is familiar with it.