Reflection of Section I Basic Concepts and Foundations

       In this first section the author presents the importance of connecting teaching and learning through the use of technology, which benefits the different students in developing their knowledge through their learning process. This comes as a benefit in the innovation of the Internet as a technological tool. Which developed the interest in connecting the teachers into the different technological media as part of an educational vision, which emphasizes the importance of implementing the application of technology to their daily work plan. In order to improve the education in our school systems, because they began to observe that students take more knowledge skills using the computer outside of school. This change brought as a goal to connect teachers to the various modern digital communications systems, which to my understanding had to be adapted to different educational philosophies.

       On the other hand, the impact of the reductions of the costs of this software developed that schools and teachers can acquire this tools to innovate and develop new teaching and learning techniques according to the different students’ needs to make a class more prosperous and meaningful. Technology is a tool that help to meet the different learning styles of the students to enrich their academic achievement such as students with different backgrounds (digital divide issues) which through its projects they can be creative using different tools and video that where they can create storytelling, etc.

       These new teaching techniques are used by the teachers as a result of their reflections made by the use of the technology in the classroom, which also helps to evaluate the student and self-evaluation as a teacher. This reflection and new teaching techniques also help teachers to share their ideas with peers from which they can receive feedback. According to Picciano "collaboration also allows others to understand a plan, a goal, or a course of action and the purposes behind it" (p.19). This makes me understand the teaching-learning process will be increasingly impacted by the various technological changes.

      This will require the teacher to begin to acquire new knowledge in the use of various technological tools. Recognizing that technology came first to the administrative area and then to the classroom, but today the Internet network come first to the classroom by the student and not by the Department of Education. As my classmates and I have mentioned in the discussion board they don’t have access to the majority of Internet sources in their school weakening classroom teaching. I think the biggest obstacle we are facing today in our schools is the lack of Internet network and not the technology equipment.

       In my personal experiences the use of technology in the classroom helps teachers break the barriers of traditional teaching methods. It also facilitates the integration of innovative teaching strategies that are helpful in increasing student's motivation and academic engagement because it makes material more relevant to them. In turn, this would also foster the development of critical thinking skills, since students feel they are active participants in their learning, have the opportunity to critique what they are learning, and move it beyond the classroom walls. Nowadays, students are expected to search different sources that will help them to answer their questions. In this case, technology plays a very important role in providing access to information.

Reference

Picciano, A.G. (2011). Educational leadership and planning for technology, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.