For the 21st century learners, it would be ideal to include instructional technology in students’ learning curriculums. Computers and digital media would make learning more engaging for the students of today. In the written curriculum, suggestions can be made of websites that teachers can use for resources to teach or reinforce a concept. The taught curriculum is curriculum of the concepts that the teacher actually teach in the classroom. Teachers can use digital books and web 2.0 tools to connect the students to meaning and understanding of concepts in the curriculum. I would like to see teachers using blogs for student reflections and literature book discussion groups. With the tested curriculum students are expected to know the fundamentals of surfing and navigating the internet and the functions of basic keys on the computer. In retrospect, if students are using the computers and internet in the classroom then they will not have a difficulty with the standards related to technology on the test.

With the science portion of our district testing they are moving towards having all of the 5th grade students complete the state assessment on the computer. My opinion of this is that they will have the students test on the computer to satisfy the NETS-A requirements for the county, however it seems meaningless to me if the technology is not embedded in the curriculum so the students can practice and benefit from using technology throughout the school year.

Our students of today are very different learners. This generations’ thinking requires multiple visual assimilations to grasp their interest in learning new and innovative concepts. As a school leader my goal will be to seek teachers that are willing to use technology, visual aids, manipulatives and other hands on teaching tools to entice students to learn concepts they are trying to teach.

I think that promoting centers and stations are excellent ways to infuse technology into the classrooms. Hence it is an effective way to employ technology into the taught curriculum. I would promote flexible groupings in the classroom so that students could have a variety of tasks and a plethora of digital media that can be used daily in the classroom. I believe that integrating technology is a resource that can be used to differentiate instruction so that students will have the opportunity to learn. I foster the use of technology by including it in activities, lessons, and assessments in the classroom. For example, I use the Interwrite whiteboard for visual and tactile learners, speakers and headsets for my auditory learners and computers for my sequential learners.

I get pleasure from adding a variety of technology to instruction. Hence, with the proper school leadership teachers can learn to build confidence in utilizing technology; therefore they can facilitate the knowledge to create an atmosphere where technology flourishes in the classroom and we will have schools with productive climates for learning in the 21st century.