I have never written a blog before, but here goes...
I tend not to be a very "public" person, so blogging is something quite outside my comfort zone. However, I am willing to try it out. Who knows? Maybe I will like it!
This week in ICT class we were introduced to the idea of integrating technology into our classrooms. So, the following is a collection of my thoughts about ICT and how it relates to education:
The technology available to this generation of students is incredible! Think about the difference between our education experience to that of our parents. How did they manage without Google? Wikipedia? YouTube? These things have become ingrained into our lives and it is hard to imagine our lives before them.
With the rapid advances in technology every day it won't be long until the way we learned/the way we live will seem outdated. Because of this, it is incredibly important that we, as teachers, do not fall behind on the changes in the ICT world. There are so many incredible tools available to us (think Internet, iPads, SmartBoards) and it would be a shame for them to go to waste in our classrooms, never using them to their full capabilities. It would be such a disadvantage to our students for them to be missing out on these opportunities to learn in new and innovative ways.
Band and music classrooms hold many opportunities to integrate ICT into learning. Students can record their own playing, write their own music, and even create digital music. Then, they can upload their work to the internet and share them with the entire world. And...all this can be done with their fingertips on an iPad.
I am excited to learn through this ICT class various ways that I can integrate technology into my own classroom in a meaningful way that truly helps students learn more effectively.
