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What it looks like? Perhaps I should begin with what effective technology integration does not look like. It does not look like a technology lesson. It isn't a lesson on how to use PowerPoint or Inspiration. It isn't a lesson that's all about "how to" and "be sure to include 6 slides and 3 pictures and a theme with transitions". So what does it look like? It looks like a classroom lesson, unit or project that includes the use of technology. Use of technology should be appropriate, add to the value of the lesson, actively engage students and generally support the goals and standards addressed in that particular lesson, unit or project. It's students using Inspiration to highlight the likes and differences of two competing ideas. It's students using Excel to capture data and share it in the form of a specific appropriate graph. It's students using technology to network with others on the topic at hand. It's leveraging technology as an incredible tool and reference source as they think, analyze, gather data, create, produce and share!

So, why use technology? It's expensive and can be frustrating. Sometimes it doesn't work, even if you tried it out ahead of time. The students often seem to know more than you do and you're the "imparter of knowledge" in your classroom. Besides, they already use it at home.

Well, there are a lot of reasons. The money has already been spent and will continue to be. Administrators want the most out of their money. Using a computer as a "babysitter" or for drill and practice software that at times has more "game" than "practice" isn't what they had in mind. Educators need to learn to use technology for student learning and achievement. If used correctly, it can deliver huge returns. Yes, sometimes it doesn't work, but the more you use it the more you'll see that more often than not it does work. When it works, the rewards can be enormous for both educators and their students. Sometimes the students do know more than you, but educators need to get beyond the traditional teacher centered classroom mentality and move towards a role of facilitator and guide (Barker, 1999). Students blossom when they teach someone else how to do something. Encourage your students to share their knowledge and skills with you and with each other. You may find out they don't know as much as you think! They just fearlessly delve in and figure it out. And maybe they are using it at home, but probably not in powerful educational ways - and perhaps not all have the access you assume.

So, let go of your fears and give effective technology integration a chance to show you how powerful a tool it can become.

Technology in the Classroom on Yahoo! Video.flv
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When does technology fail? It fails when we expect it to do our job. It's not magic and it's not a babysitter. Software that you can sit a student in front of and tell to "just use" then walk away is more likely than not low-end technology use. Technology that succeeds does so because an educator has used it well as an educational tool, integrating into his or her classroom instruction. The magic is in you, not the technology.

A comment on You Tube describes Alan Kay as "a pioneer of computer science and educational technology". His list of accomplishments is impressive. Take a look at his Wikipedia page or give his name a google!

Alan Kay quotes:

• Wiki Squeak: "The only way to predict the future is to invent it."

• Brainy Quote: "Quite a few people have to believe something is normal before it becomes normal - a sort of 'voting' situation. But once the threshold is reached, then everyone demands to do whatever it is."