I think the tablet is a great gadget for children or young adults. A tablet is more affordable than most PC's or laptops, and I assume would require much less maintenance. It is also much more useful and educationally functional than a cell phone. It may require wireless internet service, but it certainly does not require a contracted service and monthly rate like a cell phone company. I think it would be ideal for kids, and teenagers; inside and outside of the classroom.

Laura, you are not alone, finding the time to integrate technology can be overwhelming. I like the idea of students keeping an online portfolio. This will prove most useful for them when they are in college, learning organizational skills and having documents readily available.

I really enjoyed the video "Corning looks to the future...", I don't think we are too far from there. The greatest think I like about the futuristic glass is that it seems to have eliminated electronic parts and uses a bare minimum. Technology becomes obsolete overnight, leaving mounds of electronic carcasses. Cell phones, CPU's, clunky laptops, monitors, and a lot of these items have hazardous components. Glass is for the most part recycleable, so that make me content that there will be less debris in the environment. In ten to fifteen years we will probably be reminiscing about having an iPod, the way we look back on portable CD players or walkmans. The way that cars don't have cassette players anymore, they will not have cd players anymore.

Internet technologies may be a good way to teach computer literacy and content, but it may be easy for students to skim through information. In a traditional classroom lecture, the listener may only retain twenty percent of the lecture. When we have our students using online resources, can we be sure that they are thoroughly learning the content. Even in class our instructors reiterate thoroughly reading the materials, because they know we tend to skim the material and miss important information. More on the way we are learning now. We have a new category of learner rather than traditional, according to Dr. Michael Herbert, whom conducted a study of of content retention and course satisfaction at the college level. It is useful to note the five reasons why adult learners drop out of online learning programs: "poor design, failure to understand the new medium, lack of consideration for a variety of learning styles, lack of support systems and ignoring the self-selecting content need of learners." All of these reasons are the same reasons our students may struggle with internet technologies and online learning.


Herbert, M. (2006, Winter). Staying the Course: A Study in Online Student Satisfaction and Retention. Retrieved April 1, 2012, from http://www.westga.edu: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter94/herbert94.htm

After I graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American, I continued to use Library.net, which was one the the university's library resources. I love electronic books, and use them all the time. I don't own a Kindle, Nook, or iPad so I don't know if I would enjoy any of those more so than reading an ebook on my computer. Anyhow, Sometime last semester I was completely devastated to learn that my library.net login no longer worked. I was found out, weeded out alumni after several years of freeloading the university's resources. When I needed to research an assignment last semester, I asked my husband for his login from the university he is attending, and he reminded me that I could use the resources at UTB. DUH! I don't know why I didn't think of it. I had completely forgotten about those resources. They are awesome, I can do so much from home. I look up articles, books for class, and when I have time I look up books for leisure. I look forward to an herb garden in the summer.

Based on the lowest scoring areas on my campus, W. A. Todd, the Technology Application TEKS are not being implemented, students are not achieving mastery on the TA TEKS, teachers do not feel adept to integrate technology, are not offered as much professional development they feel is necessary, and are not getting the technical support necessary. I believe that in order to meed our target, we need to focus on training our teachers to integrate technology is numerous ways, with an abundance of tools, and by several means be it hands on training, online mini sessions, or sending them to conferences. When teachers get adequate training in tools that are useful for their subject matter, and style of teaching, they will be more confident in using it in the classroom. It is at this point that we can move toward our target goal with student mastery.

What a useful article Esther, thank you for sharing it. It is so important for administrators to set an example for students and teachers by using technology themselves in abundance. By their example, enthusiasm, and encouragement teachers will emulate that positive energy in the classroom. Linda Starr mentions in her article that teachers should create their own classroom pages. One way to get that goal spearheaded is to start a page for each department on campus, that will give everyone the opportunity to learn or help others with creating the department page. After each teacher has participated in some way with the department page, they can link their own classroom page, seeking help from team members, and MTT's as needed.

Regarding the digital divide due to economics, hopefully that will change now that more affordable cable/internet packages are becoming available to lower income families. Janie, I definitely agree with you that there are several technology resources, from equipment to professional development that are available to teacher that are not getting utilized. How can we change that, I think by accountability on the teachers part. Perhaps mandate the use of hands on activities to two times per six weeks, in which the student is utilizing not just the computers, but other equipment and web 2.0 tools. Make it part of the PDAS for each teacher to provide a fully detailed lesson plans with samples of student work.

That is great that you are engaging your students with technology that you are learning to integrate into your lessons, Maria. I agree with Esther and Adriana that there are so many web 2.0 tools out there to use that being familiar with all of them can seem very overwhelming for the MTT and especially for the average classroom teacher, whom may not be as technologically inclined. Shannon and Itza are right, students now plenty of tools themselves, that we can learn from as well, its a teaching moment that we need to seize. This happens to me in my classroom as well. The first time I had my student use Wordle in my 9th grade art class, I had a few students using Tagxedo, and I hadn't even told them about that site. They are so brilliant, and tech saavy, they absorb it like sponges. There is never going to be way that teachers and MTT's can know every single tool out there, we are always learners, so we should embrace that aspect of our role as well. I do agree with Kerry Turner in her article that " May teachers consider their efforts unworthy." I think its a great idea for teachers to collaborate, share ideas, and tools, and document their efforts no matter how minute the effort is.

I would say that I am from the Net Generation, I remember the Internet being referred to as the "Information Superhighway." I'll bring up this article again because the first time I posted it too early and I think it is very interesting. What generation do you consider yourself from and how to you perceive the iGereration?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201003/welcome-the-igeneration

One great section from Dr. Larry Rosen's book, Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and The Way They Learn:

"I have interviewed thousands of children in both formal research
studies and informal settings. I will never forget an interview with Ashley,
the ten-year-old daughter of a friend of mine. I asked her why she
liked technology so much. Ashley looked at me blankly and said, "What
do you mean why do I like technology? Isn't everything technology? I guess I
don't even think about it. It's sorta like the sky, ya know. I don't think about
the sky. I just know that when I look up it's there. Same with technology. It's
just everywhere." To Ashley, technology is not a tool to use, as it is for
many adults. It is the center of her life and as we shall see next, she most
certainly is consumed with it and by it." (Rosen, 25)

Rosen, Larry D., Mark L. Carrier, and Nancy A. Cheever. Rewired: Understanding the IGeneration and the Way They Learn. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Rosen, Larry D. Rewired: They Psychology of Technology. Psychology Today [serial online]. March 26, 2010; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201003/welcome-the-igeneration. Available from: www.psychologytoday.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2012.

That's right, most of us in the MTT program have to keep up with the iGeneration and the technology they were born into. We have a big responsibility keeping up with the digital world. The world of technology can be overwhelming when its out of our grasp and exhilarating when we master a task. Rest assure, we all are learners in every generation.

Entering the MTT program has opened up a whole new digital world for me that I may have never meddled into alone. Being in the program with my peers gives me confidence that we are all learning to utilize these tools in our own way. I really enjoy seeing how we all do things differently with the same tools. I would have hit a plateau when it comes to certain projects, but I am always blown away to see other MTT's take on a project. There are so many digital tools out there that its great learning of some of them through the program or by our peers.

Thank you Shannon, for sharing that, it was so interesting how innovative and simple it is to have an interactive whiteboard. It seems a little technical, but not impossible.

I wish to share this great article and open a discussion on the iGeneration. How does our view of technology, as educators, differ to how our students view techonology.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201003/welcome-the-igeneration

One great section from Dr. Larry Rosen's book, Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and The Way They Learn:

"I have interviewed thousands of children in both formal research
studies and informal settings. I will never forget an interview with Ashley,
the ten-year-old daughter of a friend of mine. I asked her why she
liked technology so much. Ashley looked at me blankly and said, "What
do you mean why do I like technology? Isn't everything technology? I guess I
don't even think about it. It's sorta like the sky, ya know. I don't think about
the sky. I just know that when I look up it's there. Same with technology. It's
just everywhere." To Ashley, technology is not a tool to use, as it is for
many adults. It is the center of her life and as we shall see next, she most
certainly is consumed with it and by it." (Rosen, 25)

Rosen, Larry D., Mark L. Carrier, and Nancy A. Cheever. Rewired: Understanding the IGeneration and the Way They Learn. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Jan. 2012.

Rosen, Larry D. Rewired: They Psychology of Technology. Psychology Today [serial online]. March 26, 2010; http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201003/welcome-the-igeneration. Available from: www.psychologytoday.com. Accessed Jan. 30, 2012.