The Doorway to Professional Learning Communities

 Hello and welcome to my Blog for Integrating Technology into  the classroom. This blog will feature some of the assignments, and aspects of learning I am doing, as I explore and discover about how technology plays an important role in the classroom. Today, educators who are against the implementation of technology in the classroom are fighting a losing battle. "Students inhabit a 21st century world for 18 hours a day, And all too often, educators put them in a 19th century classroom for six hours of that day, and the students feel a tremendous disconnect. We have a responsibility to teach them the skills to optimize these tools." (Lytle)

Technology Integration can enhance and simplify the way students learn. I consider the learning of today to be completely flexible and it allows us to learn anywhere in the world. That's a great thing! Let's hope we get the most out of our rapidly changing technology, and use it responsibly, ethically and noteworthy in the future. If the ways we are using it now are any indication, the next decades will definitely be interesting.

Edutopia is dedicated to transforming the learning process by helping educators implement the strategies listed here. Comprehensive Assessment, Integrated Studies, Project-Based Learning, Social and Emotional Learning, Teacher Development, Technology Integration. These strategies and the educators who implement them are empowering students to think critically, access and analyze information, creatively problem solve, work collaboratively, and communicate with clarity and impact.	http://www.edutopia.org/blogs/tag/classroom-technology
The purpose of tech for teachers is to take an extensive list of websites that are considered high quality, reliable, and valuable and organize them in a way that even "non-techy" teachers can utilize them. It took around 10 years to collect these resources, but new ones are found every day. All of these websites have been recommended by other teachers and educational organizations and qualify as "the best". You can find support for all core curriculum areas. In addition, you will find lesson plans, multimedia, and primary sources to enhance your students' learning environment.	http://www.techforteachers.net/blog.html
Aduino Blog for using an Arduino with education, and also some things that can be created and designed using the Arduino module Think of this as your classic Radio Shack tinkering and tooling around back in the old days, with a new twist.	http://blog.arduino.cc/category/education-2/
George Lucas on Edutopia and his hope for education.	http://youtu.be/A6MYXr2quMo
Teaching Channel is a video showcase—on the Internet and TV—of inspiring and effective teaching practices in America's schools. They have a rapidly growing community of registered members who trade ideas and share inspiration from each other.	https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/

References

Lytle, R. (n.d.). Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom. US News. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2011/07/14/study-emerging-technology-has-positive-impact-in-classroom?page=2