Blog 11

Hello to all,
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I enjoyed this weeks readings mainly because it did not only provide information (just like many other articles) but it provided solutions. A problem that was discussed was the use of pre-programmed software. The article mentioned that this is one of the only ways teachers will implement technology into their classrooms, by using pre-programmed software. As I read this I thought about all that we have learned thus far and the many ways there are of implementing technology in the classroom. Unfortunately, the article mentions teachers are not yet prepared to correctly implement technology into their daily lessons. Teachers not being properly trained is another problem that was mentioned in the article. It is very true that our students are very advanced in technology and unfortunatley our teachers are not. Since a good teacher is always learning then obviously we must take into consideration that technology is becoming necessary, like the article mentions; they are no longer "extras" yet we only have them in computer labs or the library and for certain hours. As good teachers we must begin to seek the training in order to move our students ahead into something that is no longer a privlidge but an asset.

On another note, I like the wikis so far. I still feel like I need to explore how to create them and become confortable before I can truly enjoy wikis and begin to find ways to implement wikis into lessons. When we first began to look at wikipedia I thought wikis were not that great, especially for school purposes, due to the fact that they could be edited. When I learned you could set your wiki to certain properties and criteria then I began to feel they were safe to implement in the classroom. I love the fact that a teacher can monitor the planning and organizing of the wikis through the discussion board. I can see wikis working well for group project but I will make my final decision after the current group project we have is done.