What I Will Take With Me From This Course

Throughout the short eight weeks I've spent in this program, and specifically this class and EDTECH 572, I have learned many things, not only about technological usage, but also integration, instructional design and planning. Many things were new to me, and many I had learned during my undergraduate days at Kent State.

Singling out one specific thing I will take with me is hard, but I think one thing stuck out in my head.

Educational Technology is all around us. Since its beginnings, it has continued to develop and grow. Many teachers have access to unlimited amounts of different technologies, while others (like myself) are limited in resources. While I (and many of my classmates) agree that the technology should be used as a supplement to regular instruction, there were many disagreements on how it should be implemented.

I personally feel that if technology is being forced upon a teacher, the teacher (or district) needs to integrate its usage into the curriculum. Instead of listing "learning how to graph" as a benchmark, maybe they need to update that to "learning how to graph on a scientific calculator." The teacher then still has free reign to teach them how to graph by hand (an obviously important skill), but then also must integrate calculator graphing into his/her lesson.

In addition, the teachers need a set curriculum on which to develop their own skills. If they don't have the necessary and proper skills to reach one of the benchmarks in the standards, they need to be trained on those skills.

Technology is everywhere, and it is going to continue to develop and grow to lengths that nobody thought they would ever see; things out of a science fiction film. We should embrace it when we can, but not learn to rely on it solely. The foundations of learning have always come directly from the teacher to the student, and not through any other means. If we take that out of their hands, we are opening the door for teachers who know nothing more than how to operate technology to enter the classroom, and who suffers by that, the students. They should always be at the top of the priority list.

With that, I want to thank everyone for making this introductory course interesting and fun.