Technology Integration

In my classroom, I hope to be fortunate enough to at least have a SmartBoard.  Most classrooms these days are equipped with one, and in my opinion it makes learning more fun for the students. In order to integrate more technology tools into my classroom though, I think that logical thinking needs to take place.

• Do I want this in my class because it would just be neat to have?
• Will this help my students learn?
• Is this something that can be used easily for students this age?
• What can I do with this device?

As I become a science teacher, there will be many technology tools that I will be using to help students to understand the concepts better. I can remember even when I was in middle school, we watched brain pop videos and that made it much more clear to us as to how science worked.
To ensure that integration is done smoothly, there only needs to be one new device integrated at a time. You don't want to overwhelm yourself or your students. Maybe sending home a survey for parents to fill out with questions that will let me know which tools they feel is appropriate for their child to learn most efficiently will be something to take into consideration.
I am very excited to get into the classroom and discover many new tools to use to help children not only learn about science, but enjoy it!