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"Five Ways Teachers Can Use Technology to Help Students Posted: 05/07/2013 8:34 am Follow éducation , Classroom Technology , Open Source , Public Schools , Teacher Technology , Technology In The Classroom , Technology News SHARE THIS STORY 57 273 34 Submit this story By Darrell M. West and Joshua Bleiberg Thomas Edison once said, "Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools... our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years." Amazingly enough, however, one of our nation's most important inventors was proven quite wrong. The American education system has a remarkable resistance to innovation and the classroom experience has changed very little in the 100 years since Edison's prediction. Advances in information technology have revolutionized how people communicate and learn in nearly every aspect of modern life except for education. The education system operates under the antiquated needs of an agrarian and industrial America. The short school day and the break in the summer were meant to allow children to work on family farms. Schools have an enduring industrial mentality placing students in arbitrary groups based on their age regardless of their competencies. Technology has failed to transform our schools because the education governance system insulates them from the disruptions that technology creates in other organizations. The government regulates schools perhaps more than any other organization. Rules govern where students study, how they will learn, and who will teach them. Education regulation governs the relationships of actors in the system and stymies the impact of innovative technologies. Furthermore the diffuse system of governance creates numerous veto points to limit innovation. To overcome these obstacles, we must persuade teachers that technology will empower them and help their students learn. We argue that there are five strategies for successful teacher adoption of education technology and that these principles will he

"Best Practices for Using Technology in the Classroom Technology in the Classroom When using technology for teaching, there are four basic principles to be kept in mind: Alignment: Technology should be used for a purpose-not for the sake of being flashy and not as a distraction from other forms of pedagogy. Carefully consider the ways in which video or other media that you share with your class are aligned with your learning objectives. Consider the technology that is most closely in alignment with your teaching skills and the needs of your students-if you don't like to teach with Power Point, consider giving students a handout outlining the main points of your lecture and listing major concepts to assist them in note-taking. Accessibility: Be sure that the technology that you intend to use is accessible to your students. While computers are virtually ubiquitous, and students living on campus have ready access to computing labs and other technology on campus, do consider whether or not your students have access to technology that you want them to use. Also, consider your own access to technology: make sure that you are familiar with all of the technology that you use and that media technology in your classroom is functioning correctly before the class. Plan ahead. If you are going to show a film, for example, don't wait until you walk into class to find out if the player in your classroom supports your DVD's regional format, or you will find yourself scrambling to come up with a lesson plan that does not include the film. By checking the regional format in advance, you will be able to have a matching-format DVD player delivered to the classroom by Technology Services. Assessment: As with lectures, discussions, and labs, provide your students with guidance when dealing with media technologies. If you are showing them a film, provide them with the learning objectives that you have for them in watching the film. Consider giving them a short assignment to be fil

"3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom Former Gov. Bob Wise discusses Digital Learning Day and how high school teachers can embrace technology. By Laura McMullen Jan. 25, 2012 SHARE Integrating technology into a high school classroom isn't a one-step process. "You can't just slap a netbook [computer] on top of a textbook and say, 'Great, now we have technology," says Bob Wise, former governor of West Virginia and president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, an advocacy organization. Wise says that digital learning starts with teachers, whose performance is enhanced by technology-not the other way around. That's also the idea of Digital Learning Day, which the Alliance is spearheading. The first annual Digital Learning Day falls on February 1 and will celebrate innovative K-12 instructors who successfully bring technology into the classroom by assigning online course content, using adaptive software for students with special needs, and utilizing online student assessments and other digital tools. Educators, as well as parents, students, librarians, and community leaders, can learn about classroom innovations and get new ideas by chiming in during the virtual National Town Hall meeting held on Digital Learning Day. [Learn how a new iPad app is revolutionizing textbooks.] "The whole intention of Digital Learning Day is to really celebrate teachers and good instructional learning practices," says Sarah Hall, director of the Alliance's Center for Secondary School Digital Learning and Policy. And good teaching, especially the kind that involves working with evolving technologies, sometimes requires good advice. Hall and Wise shared the following ideas for effectively using technology in the classroom-not just on Digital Learning Day, but anytime. 1. Plan ahead: There has to be a comprehensive strategy in place to implement technology into the school system, Wise says, and the teachers have to be involved in the planning stages. "When a schoo

"When I first started teaching it was a goal of mine to integrate technology into the classroom as much as I could. I began my teaching career after being a graphic designer and working for a textbook publisher. That experience taught me how important technology is in the real world." This website has neat ideas on how to incorporate technology in early childhood classrooms.

A wonderful resource for special educators using technology to enhance the learning of their special needs students. The Journal of Special Education Technology

This is a youtube video that someone created for a special education course. It provides an overview of some of the key terms of assistive technology and examples of some of the technology available.

A graphical representation of what teachers are looking for and like about technology in the classroom.

On going discussion of technology in the classroom.

This site provides practical and technology -specific information for students with disabilities. The author sets forth specific disabilities (ex. dyscalcula, dyslexia) and demonstrates which technologies will best help students with those disabilities.

This site addresses the various ways we can use technology to teach our students with autism

This blog is AWESOME! It relates to all level of educators, includes tips on classroom uses with technology, has news from all over the globe related to technology and education, and even has how-to posts. I find myself reading it daily now and even back-reading. A must read!

Teaching using technology supports

Blog that integrates information about using technology in the educational setting with ways to better teach special needs students. Written by an CCC-SLP, this blog both gets down to the basics of using technologies such as ipads to using specific applications with a targeted population in schools.

Teaching History with Technology is an EdTechTeacher resource created for K-12 history and social studies teachers to incorporate technology into their courses.

This website is the Family Center on Technology and Disability. This is a great website that provides a lot of resources (family guides, a glossary, basic information, facts sheets, discussions, and more) about assistive technology and how AT can help children with disabilities.

Technology for Students with ADHD - Blog Site which asks: why don't we open our schools to all sorts of technology for klearning? If an adult teacher uses her smartphone to stay organized, why can't her students?

Excellent resource for educators using technology

Thie commercial Apple, Inc. website provides its viewers valuable information about the latest Apple, Inc. apps for educators and students. It will keep you up to date on the technology out there for us and allow you to see demonstrations of the use of certain apps. Commercial, but very informative

This Website is useful for those of us who need to convince our administrators that technology is essential in delivery of instruction.

Easter Seals offers a loan program for assistive technologies