Journal 5 What is your favorite Ed Tech Tool? - NETS-T V

Wurster, Paul. (2009). What is your favorite Ed Tech Tool? Learning and Leading with Technology, 36(8). Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=June_July_No_8_1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4333&ContentID=23579&DirectListComboInd=D

ISTE conducted a poll to find out which educational technology tools teachers prefer. Since teachers use so many tech tools in combination, many responded that it was difficult to single out only one tool as their favorite. When the poll was revised to include teacher comments and to include more than one favorite tool, results were more forthcoming.

Internet Tools/Resources emerged as the all-time favorite as the most basic and necessary technological tool with the open access to the Internet touted as a basic necessity for survival in contemporary society. More than one-third of poll respondents favored the Internet.

General Productivity Tools came in second with more than 20% of the 899 total votes. Tools such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher, coupled with email, have enabled teachers to more effectively collaborate in creating and sharing instructional materials. Lesson plans can be saved and edited, revising and improving them from year to year.

Interactive Whiteboards/Projectors have revolutionized teaching strategies, engaging students in an interactive learning environment. The interactive and visual components of these tools are especially helpful to English language learners. These tools give teachers and students a break from the old lecture format of classroom instruction.

Web 2.0 Tools encourage collaboration and engagement among students, teachers, and course content experts in the field. Students just plain like using them. Google Docs and Moodle facilitate collaborative work and study for students, teachers and administrators both inside and outside the classroom.

Portable Digital Devices are the gadgets most people won't leave home without. The portability and increasingly diminutive size of technology tools have made technology more convenient than ever.

One thing certain about technology is that as it continues to move forward, it will change at a rapid-fire pace, and teachers will have to remain flexible enough to adapt to technological advances. For better or worse, technology is here to stay, in our lives, in our work, in our classrooms.

How will technology affect my teaching and classroom environment?
Technology tools are now basic to lesson planning, preparation of instructional materials and content, as well as to the delivery of both traditional and interactive instruction. The technologically illiterate teacher will have difficulty finding a place in today's classroom. As I substitute teach, I see many classrooms that are heavily equipped with technology tools that many teachers are uncomfortable using. I hope to gain enough comfort and facility with technology to ensure that I will be able to use technology tools with confidence in the classroom.

What's my favorite tech tool?
At this point, my favorite tool is my computer. It's where I do most of my planning and information-gathering for substitute teaching and for my own coursework. I like using the doc cam rather than overhead transparencies, and would like to learn more about interactive whiteboards. I don't believe it's necessary to be "connected" 24 hours a day, but I do believe tech tools are amazing! The list of tools in this article are a good place to start to become technologically literate.