Integrating technology into the classroom

Technology is definitely here to stay, and the students of our age are digital natives. Ignoring technology in the classroom just leads to frustrated students and teachers. The students are frustrated because they can't use the digital tools they are increasingly expert with, and the teachers are frustrated by their students lack of interested and involvement in the learning process.

Take my nephew as a case in point. He is entering high school this coming September. His current school system does not use technology in the classroom. In fact,  you can't even pay him to pick up and read a book (believe me I've tried). He is going to a private Catholic high school in the fall at his own request. He doesn't want to go to this school for a better education but because his friends are going there. He has no interest in learning, hates doing home work, and has so so grades. The only reason he was accepted to this high school is due to the economy - enrollment is down so the school is accepting students they would not have accepted even five years ago.

Put my nephew in front of a computer, however, and everything changes. We both play World of Warcraft and I can't keep up with all of the rules and stats for characters in the game. I just play for fun. When I see him, he starts spouting all the rules and stats at me, and starts bragging about his progress in the game. He is involved, he is interacting, he is learning.

If my nephew's school system used technology, he would absolutely be a much better student. So why aren't more schools integrating technology in the classroom? Money is an issue, but there are grants, budgeting, donations, and many other ways of obtaining technology for school.

So my philosophy about what it means to integrate technology into the classroom is that we should integrate it to the greatest extent possible. We should use technology and innovative lessons based on the digital age to engage our students and make learning fun. The digital age is here to stay, we need to evolve our classrooms to take advantage of it.