Where are we going?: Technology in the Classroom

I was recently asked the question, "How is education different from when you were a child? and Where do you think education will be in twenty years?" I am a young teacher, so the differences are not huge for me. Technology is definitely different from when I was in school. Students today have more ability to interact with the global world. I think that there is more collaboration than when I was in school as well. I don't know that the differences make my job easier. I think they just make it different. Students now need different tools and ways of communicating. They also need the tools that I learned, about speaking in front of groups and interacting with others face to face. I think education is going more toward being individual. Many of the schools with cutting edge technology are going to 1:1 classroom. (That is one student with one computer.) It's good for technology, but are they receiving the time with actual people that they need? I'm not sure if this trend will continue in twenty years, but I hope they do not do away with real classrooms. Don't get me wrong. I would be in heaven if my students each had a computer in class, but we would not be spending our entire day using it.

I love to use technology in my classroom and I think it is very important. I read a great blog post about what teachers need to know about technology. The Top Eleven Things All Teachers Must Know About Technology It really helped me see how technology has changed and where we need to be heading. It is so important to teach our students about "digital citizenship." Teaching students to be responsible when using technology, especially Web 2.0 technology will be very valuable to them.