VisionStatement

Vision Statement Technology effectively utilized can be an immense tool in the classroom because it can assist teachers, inspire imagination in students and open doors to the world. Technology can be used in three main ways: 1. To prepare and equip students to be active leaders in a digital age. Students upon graduation will be released into the world where digital literacy is not an option. What is a second language to previous generations is something in which this generation is fluent. Finding a job in the digital age would be impossible without technology and complete working knowledge of computer applications and general skills. 2. To diffuse the impacts of learning disabilities and at-risk students in the classroom. Students affected by learning disabilities can be positively impacted by the use of technology. According to Russlyn Ali, an assistant secretary for civil rights, “technology can be a critical investment in enhancing educational opportunities for all students. The Department [of Education] is firmly committed to ensuring that schools provide students with disabilities equal access to the benefits of technological advances.” From electronic e-readers reading text aloud to project-based learning for hyperactive or distracted students, technology will be the avenue to providing more equal opportunities to our students. In Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, Judy Heumann, assistant secretary in the US Department of Education, says “for most of us, technology makes things easier. For a person with a disability, it makes things possible.” This speaks to the fact that technology used properly will greatly impact students with learning differences. 3. To grant worldwide access from the four walls of the classroom. According to the Edutopia website, technology will allow better access to primary sources and up-to-date textbooks and materials, better methods to encounter and keep information, improved collaboration situations, self-expressions through media types, important, relevant knowledge and authentic knowledge. With all of this access, students will also have so many different ways to publish their knowledge. Electronic portfolios that students prepare in senior level classes could be useful for college acceptance. Specifically, in a foreign language classroom, the opportunities are endless; video chat, pen pals, virtual field trips, Google Earth, and exploration of cultures could all become routine things instead of challenging tasks for a teacher to incorporate (Roblyer, 2009). In conclusion, technology is already integrated into the world, and schools must catch up in order to completely prepare students for post-secondary success. Works Cited Department of Education Issues Guidance on Rights of Students With Disabilities When Educational Institutions Use Technology. (2011). Ret. from http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-issues-guidance-rights-students-disabilities-when-education Lankes, A. M., & Technology, E. C. O. I. &. (1995). Electronic portfolios: A new idea in assessment. Clearinghouse on Information & Technology. Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A.H. (2009). Integrating educational technology into teaching 5th edition. San Fransisco: Allyn & Bacon. What Is Technology Integration? (2007). Ret. from http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-module-technology-integration-what