Reflection on the article, The Use and Abuse of Technology in the Classroom

The article, The Use and Abuse of Technology in the Classroom, was informative and overwhelming. I am excited to learn of all the ways to help my future students learn. I am also overwhelmed at the many layers of careful planning and research that is involved in each lesson taught. Teachers today have very limited time to incorporate all the material they are required to teach within the school year. As educators, we have to get the most out of every lesson. Each lesson has to teach all subjects. There is no time for "fluff work" or fillers without meaning. Technology can accomplish so many lessons in one activity. Teachers need to be educated, whether self-taught or done in continuing education, on ways to appropriately intertwine technology into their classrooms to have a productive school year.

Reflection on the article STEM: It's Elementary

STEM: It’s Elementary, is a great article discussing the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math in the elementary classroom. Integrating these important, real world lessons into the elementary curriculum is what is necessary to prepare our children for a successful future. There has been such a focus on reading and writing in the elementary classroom, as it should be, that, I feel, the other subjects have been somewhat neglected. The article states that just changing the way we look at things, and the questions we ask, getting the community involved, integrating STEM in all subjects, and giving kids more access to technology will all help to accomplish the goal of giving students a STEM education. These subjects do not have to be neglected, or pushed to the back in our elementary classrooms. They are needed to be woven in in a natural way that supports whole child learning. 

What stood out to me in this article was the importance of starting early with the introduction of technology. Technology is the future, and we need to prepare our children. Also, I liked how adding words to your teaching vocabulary like, design, experiment, and model will aid in getting students to start thinking in a more critical way. It is so important to help students make the connections from the classroom to real world concepts.