Assignment 1: After having looked over these educational technology research sites, go to your blog and respond to the following questions:

• Give a brief review of the research you found on these sites. 

I thought number 6, the US Department of Education – A Retrospective on Twenty Years of Education Technology Policy was very interesting and gave good reasons for supporting technology in our classrooms and schools. I liked that it defined technology as a change agent. I think this is very true. Technology use can cause a reaction for changes in other areas such as course content, how materials are taught, how often material is taught, and the overall quality of a program. This document also touched on how technology can address many challenges classrooms today face. For example how to deliver material to students, how to provide academic opportunities for students who are not in large districts, how to help students become more diverse in their thinking, and much more.  The article also stated the importance of technology in students future employment and the importance of technology innovation for the US to maintain economic and political dominance on a global scale.

• What are your reactions to this research?

I feel like this is information that most of us know but some don’t want to believe. Some who are stuck in their ways do not want to hear about the importance of technology in the classroom or about the positive impact it can make. By having actual research to back up what we already know it makes the fight for technology an easier battle. I thought it was really interesting to read through the different links you posted. There is so much good information out there about the positive impact technology is having in our classrooms and schools.

• Is this information helpful in justifying the use and expense of technology in our schools?

The information was very much helpful in justifying the use and expense of technology in our schools. It is just crazy to me that we don’t use more technology in our schools. We know this is how our kids learn and play at home, by using lots and lots of technology. So why are we not using it more in our classrooms? There are so many good programs and so many new technology tools out there that will enhance our teaching and our students learning, we should be using them as much as we can.