technology use at my school and its impact

I'm grateful to be at a school that highly values technology and has received thousands in funding due to our SES and grants. Teachers use Elmo's, Smart Boards, and computers in their classrooms. We have a full-time technology teacher and two labs for all grades, K-8. Recently my students learned to use Kid Pix as a way to share their understanding of plant growth. These 3rd graders will start learning Power Point, so they can then share their understanding of Portland History. Students also learn keyboarding, Word, Internet Research and Safety, Excel, and more.

Technology's impact on learning is an increase in student engagement, and in rigorous, relevant instruction for the 21st century. As teachers, with the use of technology we are better able to address varied learning styles and our students' multiple intelligences. For example, I find it much easier to provide visual instruction than I did previous to Elmo's and Smart Boards. Before, over 80% of my instruction was probably auditory, unless the information came in a book with pictures and photos. Now, I believe that my purely auditory instruction is down to 50% or less.

I'm looking forward to increasing my curriculum development skills with the use of the Smart Board. Not only will my lessons become more engaging, I'll have more fun designing the lessons.