Discussion 4

Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning

One of the paragraphs in this article discussed how knowledge and skills is a barrier for technology integration; I completely agree with this. Not many people adapt well to change, and technology is constantly changing. I know of a situation where a business department had the opportunity to upgrade to Windows 2007 this year. As a department, they chose to stick with Windows 2003. There were many excuses and reasons of why they chose to continue to teach 2003 this year, but I believe it was because they were all afraid of change. In order to upgrade, they would have to teach themselves the new software, possibly change their classroom activities/handouts, etc. Many teachers are not comfortable with teaching or using technology they have never used before. Even though it may be an uncomfortable situation, all teachers must have an open-mind to change. As long as the teacher implements it in an effective manner, technology integration can be very beneficially in the classroom.