I have always know that technology was the "wave of the future". What I didn't realize was the future is here...today.....now. Technology , whether some want to accept it or not is here to stay. Educators, who are "Digital Immigrants" (those who did not grow up with computers) , can choose either to embrace technology and adapt to integrating technology in to their curriculum or continue to instruct the way generations have taught; through lecture, pen & paper. Should they choose to continue in the manner of lecture with regurgitation of information, students will no longer be receptive to learn. By refusing to alter their methods of instruction, these educators will be doing a disservice to their students.

THE 12 STEP PROGRAM

"Hello. My name is Caroline. I am a Digital Immigrant. I have always been a Digital Immigrant. But I want to change. I am willing to change. I want to improve my teaching skills. I want to make my classroom an exciting learning environment. I want my students to be excited about learning. I am ready to accept the twelve step program.

• Step 1. ACCEPT. I accept that I am a Digital Immigrant. I was not born into the world of technology. I was not raised with technology.
• Step 2. CHANGE. I am ready to change. I am prepared to learn new strategies and adapt technology in to my classroom.
• Step 3. LEARN. I am ready to learn. I want to learn more about the uses of technology and how to incorporate technology into my classroom. I will research technology and its uses in the classroom by reading websites, blogs and wikis.
• Step 4. ACT. I am learning that blogs, wikis, and podcasts are an easy, fun and powerful way for my students and myself to communicate with the world. My students and I are able to share our knowledge, ideas and information with others around the globe.
• Step 5. PARTICIPATE. I participate in social networking through wikis and nings. I am an explorer and analyzer of information throughout the world wide web. I am a collector, a consumer and a producer of information.
• Step 6. SHARE. I can share my new knowledge of technology with my students. I can create new lessons that incorporate the school's curriculum with the tools of the internet. I can share these new tools with other teachers. I can collaborate with my colleagues on the uses and advantages of using technology in the classroom to enhance student learning.
• Step 7. DEMONSTRATE. I can demonstrate safe ways for my students to share their knowledge and ideas. I can demonstrate the power of learning through collaboration.
• Step 8. CREATE. By modifying my current curriculum to incorporate technology, I can create an exciting learning environment. I can create interesting lessons plans that require students to research and publish their findings through a class blog.
• Step 9. COMMUNICATE. I can communicate to parents the daily activities, lessons, and homework by using a blog or a wiki. I can use these formats to showcase a student's work and progress. To enhance a lesson, links related to the curriculum can be added to the wiki.
• Step 10. ADVOCATE. I can be a strong advocate and proponent of using technology in the classroom to the administrators of my school, district and to the community. I can lobby local community leaders and school board members the advantages of technology instruction in the classroom.
• Step 11. IMPLEMENT. I can help to implement new strategies and policies about the advantages of using technology in the classroom.
• Step 12. LEARN. I can continue to learn all that I can about technology and how to use it effectively in the classroom. Technology continues to change and improve. To keep up with these changes, I must continue to gain as much knowledge as I can in order to be an effective teacher. Learning, for students and teachers, never ceases.

This is my 12 Step Program to become a better, more effective elementary teacher.

Using Blogs Safely in the Classroom

Blogging has so much potential to be used in the classroom. I can use this powerful tool to share information with parents and students. I can communicate assignments, share daily classroom activities and provide links to other sites that will enable my students to explore and learn outside the classroom.

The virtual world of the internet has opened up so many windows of learning opportunities for our students today. They are able to learn from so any different sources, some reliable and others not. Students are able to learn about any subject they are interested in just by typing into a search engine, like Google, NetTrekker, or Quintura. How reliable or safe are these sites? I suspect that Google is probably the most widely used search engine. But I have "Googled" words or phrases and the search has (sometimes) revealed websites and images that are inappropriate for children, especially young elementary age children. NetTrekker and Quintura have screened websites and when searched, reveal sites that that are age appropriate and information appropriate for students.

I believe that as educators, we need to expand the world of our students, but we also need to monitor the resources that they access for reliable content and age appropriate information.