Robin Lang

SLM 521

February 8, 2005

Technology Integration Made Easy

This article offers nineteen ways to integrate internet instruction into your daily routine as a classroom teacher. The nineteen ways include twenty activities and almost fifty websites to use the internet in your daily classroom routine.

Technology is supposed to be integrated into the curriculum, not taught as a separate subject. The challenge for teachers is to use technology, such as the internet, within their lessons. Many teachers are hesitant or reluctant to use the computer, and especially the internet, as a teaching tool, do to a lack of experience with it. Many teachers may also be unfamiliar with websites that are appropriate for teaching and student use. This article provides nineteen ideas for teachers to use the internet in their daily routines.

Some of these ideas include accessing an online weather forecast, using websites that provide printable calendars or monthly activities, using websites with online math problems, having students locate a quote or word of the day from a particular URL, and accessing many other student-centered websites.

I agree with the article, that using technology in the classroom is important. Students today need to learn the many ways the internet can assist them with their learning and schoolwork. I also agree that the nineteen ways the author suggested do seem easy. Their ideas were creative and probably adaptable to any school system’s curriculum and across several grade-levels. However, the main problem with the author’s ideas, are that there needs to be computers in every classroom. This is still a problem in many schools. My school, for example, does not have computers in the classrooms. We do have a mobile lab, but you cannot keep it in your classroom all the time, as many of the ideas would require. Teachers without much computer experience would also need to have help available, so they know how to implement many of the ideas. I think the ideas the author suggested are creative and students would find them interesting and fun. It would be nice if every school could take advantage of these ideas.

Starr, Linda. (2002) Technology Integration Made Easy. Education World. Retrieved January 30, 2005, from source.