I believe I've learned so much about how to incorporate technology into my classroom. With the internet used in a connected, informative way, I'll be able to help my student navigate their way to the knowledge they seek. For example, the ability to make a power point and a video is remarkable. I would not have learned these things on my own and now I can do it easily.

Knowing how to connect information in one place will help my students access information I need them to have in an organized way. Then they can expand from there what they need to know to complete a project, paper, etc. An example of this is Symbaloo. This site is amazing in that it shows everything I would like my students to see in one place.

My opinion of technology in the classroom has changed greatly. I simply did not know there were so many ways to access the internet to educate students and myself! There are many good tools to learn from, for example, a WebQuest. This way of learning is a great use of the internet. It starts with a central concept unknown to students and guides them to explore and discover the material using their own creative strengths.

I was completely clueless in what this class had to offer but came away with new found confidence to use the internet in a completely new way. Gone are the days of just checking email and ordering a book from Amazon. I now have a website, a Twitter account that I love, the ability to connect with other educators in my field and make a video. A great class; don't change a thing!

    In the article, Escaping The Dark Ages of Standardized Testing , by Linda Rosen, it's obvious there are differing opinions about standardized testing for school age children, specifically, the assumption schools only focus on math and English skills to assure testing results achieve a satisfactory 'grade' for the school. A closer look at standardized testing reveals the need to use technology to provide cost cutting, high quality exams to ensure that poor and minority students can be isolated and helped if they have poor test results. The new standardized testing under way is called Common Core standardized testing. Some states are concerned about cost and technological shortfalls on the part of the schools to administer the exams and are pulling out of the pool to use the new Common Core testing system. Mrs. Rosen worries that if the new standardized testing is eliminated as some state leaders are pushing for, those poor and minority children will suffer academically. They will ultimately fall between the cracks and nothing will change.

    I've always been a skeptic of standardized testing. I was glad to see an article addressing my shared skepticism and was shocked to read that the new Common Core standardized test can cost anywhere from $23 to $30 dollars per student! But then I learned a good quality exam doesn't come cheap. Until I read this article I thought standardized testing was a waste of time. I thought it was a way to put more pressure on educators to achieve impossible federal standards. I do believe these exams are integral in determining not only the level of educational standards a school is trying to achieve but in determining where resources could be used to produce a better academic outcome for the student, especially poor and minority students. Fortunately, technology can help with both sides of the debate by controlling costs for the states and ensuring a high quality exam for the school to administer to their students. But more importantly it allows for a continuum between states. Educational standards are changing. To make matters more complicated they change from state to state. In my opinion the use of technology to streamline testing will make it more of an evaluative tool for students; not necessarily an evaluative tool for the educator- across the board. But I believe there has to be the same standards for Missouri as in Montana, for example. Technology can and hopefully will do that in the coming years.




Rosen, Linda. "Escaping the Dark Ages of Standardized Testing." Politics. Huff Post, 08 Aug. 2013. Web.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-rosen/escaping-the-dark-ages-of_b_3816020.html?utm_hp_ref=education-technology