The Beginning

I have been using a computer for the majority of my life.  I remember playing DOS run games on my dad's office computer at the age of six.  I had a computer class in the ninth grade in which I learned the basics of Microsoft Office, and one in college on the same subject.  I also took a class called Technology In The Classroom.  I vaguely remember going over PowerPoint and Front Page.  That class was just six years ago and is already incredibly outdated.  That is the problem I am having with today's teachers.  Unless they physically make themselves available for more technology training by means of taking courses or trying to keep up with it a little at a time by way of the Internet, then they are vastly behind.  I am one of the most recent graduates at my current school, and what I learned is already outdated.  Imagine these teachers that have been in the classroom for twenty five years.  How far behind in the technology curve are they?  Our students have never known life without technology.  Half of them sleep with their cell phones ready to answer a text or check Facebook in the middle of the night.  How do they feel when in a classroom that does not at all cater to their learning needs.  Now, do they need to be entertained all day?  By no means!  I do feel as educators we are doing them a disservice if we do not use the tools available to us to make learning easier for them.  With technology the way we have it, we really have the ability to go much faster.  In theory they should be learning more.  In my personal opinion, schools should offer much more in terms of educating their teachers on the use of technology in the classroom.  The material should be broken down in little bits easy enough for the teachers to digest.  We have to find a way for teachers today to understand the need for technology.  to understand that implementing technology in our classrooms doesn't mean just throwing together a PowerPoint for our lesson that day.  Technology is SO much more than that!  We have the opportunity to really communicate with our students via social media; to have instant feedback from our students via online polling or text polling; to go almost paperless via online quiz makers, etc.  Our students crave technology, and to be quite honest, teaching with technology is much more fun!