I spend about an hour watching different videos from this website. The videos were very interesting and I shared this site with my son. He loved the website. I found the one with Bill Gates very interesting. In this video talks about state budgets that affect our school system. Very scary too... too close for comfort. http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_how_state_budgets_are_breaking_us_schools.html

There is a saying "We are only as good as our Leaders" and I find this true. Adminstrative serve as our leaders at our campus and they have to model using technology and supporting those teachers that follow. I was reading Pedro's response and that also happened to me. I had planned a technology lesson for all of third grade to follow when we went to lab and everything fell apart. The technology was not available and there were several technology issues. I was fustrated. I feel better now and feel like our campus is going in a positive direction with our new principal coming aboard.

I share your enthusiasm about reading. I was a LEP students so reading helped me develop my vocabulary in English and took me to places beyond my imagination. Although I teach math and science, I do promote reading by reading literature to introduce vocabulary and concepts to my students. I like the ideas that you mentioned. My son has told me about E-Books and I googled it. I found this this site that I used for math http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/shapesonstory.asp
Maybe this would be a good idea to get students more interested in reading. Also, promoting AR points in the classroom and celebrating when students meet their goal is another strategy I used to get students to read.

After revewing the needs assessment survey from teachers at our campus, I found that for the most part teachers do want to implement technology in their classroom. At our campus, we have many tools available but we do lack training. Fortunately, there are several teachers that have completed or will complete the courses to become an MTT so I know that Munoz Elementary will become a school where technology will be part of our everyday curriculum. As a future MTT teacher , it would be in the best interest of our school to provide IPads to all our students. Since, we are a low socio-ecomonic campus, the only way this can happen is if we were to get a grant. So, my goal is to find a grant that would provide IPads.

Wow! I remember watching Star Trek when I was young and feeling the same way as I watch this video. At first, I didn't understand the concept of glass technology until in the middle of the video. The only thing I can relate this is to the different apps on an smartphone or an Ipad. I found this very interesting and I think that in the classroom, it would surely enhance the learning experiences of students. However, I wonder if this technology ever was develop to the magnitude of the video, would it be assessible to all school districts or only the rich ones? For this reason, as teachers, we need to keep up with all the latest technology so that we won't be left out. Unfortunately, I will probably will be retired by this time. I only have about 7 years left before I can retire. LOL

I use to think that many teachers didn't want to change thier methods of presenting lessons by using technology in the classroom but I have changed my mind. When I share what I have learned with other teachers at my campus, they become excited and want for me to teach them how to integrate the different Web 2.0 tools in their lessons. I think as a district, we need to hold teachers more accountable to attend workshops that offer training and make the technology more accessible to students.

I definetely belong in the baby boomers generation but have adapted somewhat to the netgeneration and even the igeneration to some extent. I can truly say that I have become more technological savy in the last year and I enjoy surfing the net as they say. There are many things that I do on line like pay bills, look up research for class and even look for lessons to help my students and keep up with 21st century technology. However, I don't have a high tech phone or an ipad but not because I don't want to use them but I can't afford them. As soon as I get either one, I will definetely become part of the igeneration. : )

My own personal children are very technological savy and they are always talking about the latest technology tool so I want to keep up with the latest so that I could communicate with them. Also, I see the importance of the responsibility that we have as teachers to create students that are prepared for the 21st century. I decided to get into the MTT program so that I could be up to date on the latest tools that are available to us as teachers. Although I have had problems keeping up, I am not giving up. I want to be an asset to my school and serve in a MTT teacher role and mentor to those teachers that are lacking technology to get them excited about integrating technology into their lessons.

In this article, it lays out a visual representation of what is happening in our classrooms. While, we are trying to keep up with the latest technology, it seems that most teachers are still at a loss as to what should be happening in the classroom with the technology available to them. At the moment, many teachers at our campus have a smart board, 5 student computers with internet, class response clickers, and new gadget called KINEO that our District Migrant Department has provided to out Migrant students. This apparatus is supposed to help our migrant students in leveling their knowledge on math, reading and even science skills through the program WEBACHIEVER. We have had these gadgets in our library for about two months and have been used only once because no one has been train as how to use them. I can say that Donna ISD has done a very good job at providing opportunities for us teachers to get technology savvy but unfortunate not many have taken that opportunity. We have even had the opportunity to complete technology staff development in our pajamas. As a result of these initiatives by our district, it is safe to say that our district is in the right direction as far as providing us the technology and advancing software that is available to students and teachers. Through MTT Donna Right Technology Grant, more teachers will become masters at providing the right tools so that teachers can change their attitudes towards these initiatives however more training and accountability needs to be in place in order for the students in our district develop the skills needed to compete in this technological world. In the article Top Ten Issues Shaping Today's Technology Uses in Education, we can read and make sense of how we can continue to look for a solution.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/ten-issues-shaping-today-technology/