Technology Integration Technology is an integral part of our students lives, and they want to be using technology in the classroom.

Todays students are not content to learn from traditional teaching methods (Prensky, 2001). Because technology is such a vital tool in other facets of their lives, it must play a role in their education as well. Traditional, teacher-centered instruction must be replaced with technology-based, student-centered instruction (Kadijevich, 2006). As educators, it is our job to prepare students for life beyond the classroom. As technology becomes increasingly more important to our society, it is becoming more important to utilize technology in the classroom. Todays students spend a great deal of time using technology to watch videos, play games, locate and share information, and communicate with others. Technology motivates students and holds their attention for long periods of time (Prensky, 2001). Todays teachers, however, often complain that students are not able to maintain attention in class. Student motivation and engagement is vital to successful learning; therefore, it makes sense that teachers would integrate technology into their instruction in a way that motivates and engages student learners (Papert, 1993). When I taught using an overhead projector and transparencies, I struggled to maintain student attention and motivation throughout my lessons. Using the interactive whiteboard allows me to access and integrate a variety of technology tools that engage the students in the learning experiences. For me, this self-study reinforced the importance of providing support to teachers as they integrate technology. Even as a technology savvy teacher, it is necessary to receive support from colleagues. It is beneficial for teachers to bounce ideas off one another when planning for instruction as each teacher comes to the table with her own ideas and experiences. Many teachers shun the idea of incorporating technology into their instruction; too much time and effort exerted in learning technology. My more powerful moment was in repurposing this interactive classroom into a professional development opportunity. The new goal was to change staff members ways of thinking in utilizing technology in a w ay that feels comfortable and applicable in to instruction. Educators use technologies in many ways for many different reasons. Users redefine the uses of technologies because all people have different purposes and needs to technologies. Therefore we can create a new purpose for a technology (Mishra et al., 2008). Driscoll (1994) states that "providing complex learning environments that incorporate authentic activity" is essential in developing a meaningful learning experience for children of the Nintendo generation. By using the Edmodo to develop or further practice academic skills or gain content knowledge is a way to tend to the children of the 21st century. Prensky (2001) discussed that these digital natives brains are programmed differently than adults now (digital immigrants). These changes mean that teachers should be spending time developing ways to program students' minds in an interactive, parallel, simultaneous way. Children are raised on the computer and Nintendo generation, so they have developed hypertext minds. Instead of blaming students on their lack of attention, we should be considering their lack of interest (Prensky, 2001). For example, instead of using paper and pencil to practice symmetry, a teacher could adapt a geometry lesson in order to

incorporate technology to assess students knowledge of the symmetry. The weaknesses of using technology to teach or extend a skill could be technically glitches, or having the teacher assess who is capable of handling the computer and software appropriately rather than using it for recreation.

Artifacts Connected to MTTS and ISTE Standards

This is a presentation I created to show the goals in a digital learning plan for my school, Woodholme Elementary. It provides a change management plan with recommendations in steps and strategies, and the challenges that are faced in following through with this digital learning plan. Bully: Moviemaker Video Design MTTS Standards: II, III ISTE - T Standards: 4, 5

Professional Development on edmodo

References Prensky (2001)

(Mishra et al., 2008).

(Papert, 1993).