How to Stay Current in Using Technology in the Classroom

Professional Development Plan for Technology Integration

In any field in order to stay current and to keep up with the trends, one must stay connected to what is happening in that field. It is important to read professional articles, to attend seminars, and to learn how to use the tools of the trade.  As an educator, it is important to me to keep up with the current trends in education.  One trend that seems to be here to stay is that of integrating technology into everyday lessons in the classrooms.  It is no longer a question of whether to use technology in our classrooms, but how we are to do so.  Technology is changing every day and there are many ways to implement the use of technology into actual lessons.   It is my intention to do the following in order to remain current and to be effective as a classroom teacher.

1.     I will join several professional development blogs and follow the current trends.

2.    I will read professional articles addressing technology integration

3.     I will attend technology professional development classes available in my district.

4.    I will implement and use new and relevant technology into my lesson plans. 

The following websites will be very helpful in learning about how to stay current in using technology to make learning more effective:

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te1000.htma

This site provides information on how to create a well-planned, ongoing professional development program that is tied to the school's curriculum goals, and helps teachers to understand how to use technology appropriately to promote learning for all students in the classroom.

http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/catalog/courses/SCIE504/

This site makes available professional development classes for teachers on how to integrate technology into their lessons. 

http://www.4teachers.org/

4Teachers.org works to help you integrate technology into your classroom by offering online tools and resources. This site helps teachers locate and create ready-to-use Web lessons, quizzes, rubrics and classroom calendars

http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/month.htm

This site has a newsletter, website information, online literacy webquests, research articles, and much more. 

If we are to compete in the global world and produce students that will be able to stand up next to those from other countries, it is our job as teachers to provide our students with the most up to date education and to prepare them to operate and function in the very competitive economic market.  We need to be able to teach our students how to use the most current technology and how to use it well enough to create gain the edge against the competition.