Integrating Technology - What Will I Do?

"I'm not attention deficit - I'm just not listening." This statement from the YouTube video, Pay Attention, really struck a chord with me. Teachers (I'm guilty as charged) are so quick to say that "kids these days" don't know how to sit still and listen and they won't be able to hold down a real job because they can't focus on anything. This statement really has to be evaluated! Ever notice how kids can sit still for hours at a time in front of a computer, TV, and/or cell phone? They CAN sit still and focus when everything in front of them is zooming by at 100 miles per hour! I am very animated during class but my gymnastics days are over, therefore I can't cartwheel around the room to engage my class but I can do a few things better.
1. Speak up. I have to go to my principal and be an advocate for better technology. I didn't know about blogs, wikis, del.icio.us, and Avatar a month ago, let alone how to use them in a classroom. Web 2.0 isn't going away so I have to show what I know...not to be confused with showing off what I know. I am not going to show my principal my neat blog with pictures and music and a pretty background. I'm going to walk her through the process of creating a blog, beginning with Tim Tyson's podcast on blogging in school. I have to ask the questions, "How can we use this?" and "Why should we use this?"
2. Start small. I tend to get overwhelmed when I see what everyone else is doing in class. My timeline looks good, but hers looks better. My blog is cool, but it doesn't have that. My portfolio is growing, but it will never look like his. I have to stop saying these things because it's not about what everyone else is doing, it truly is about what I have learned. This is why educators are nervous about technology; the fear that someone else is doing it better. I have to let go of being the best at everything and start small. It's impossible to integrate everything we've learned in ETEC 524 into the first six weeks of school. Instead, I am going to pick a couple of things and really become an expert. That is the best way to serve my students and inform my fellow teachers.
3. Summon the students. Remember show and tell? Well how about show and tell 21st Century Style? Students can bring cell phones, iPods, websites, or any technology tool as long as it demonstrates an application for classroom use. I can notify the parents in advance so they know why their 5th grader needs an iPod at school and hold technology class in my own room at least every two weeks. Every student I will teach from now on already knows the Internet, Google, Mp3 players, cell phones, and so on, like the back of his/her hand. Why not allow them to train their peers and me; show us the tricks, shortcuts, gadgets. I use Unitedstreaming in my history class so students can view reenactments of events that occurred hundreds of years ago. I have a hunch, though, that one of my future students will know MovieMaker and may have a better idea for those reenactments.