What about Technology? (beginning of semester reflection)

Sometimes I have no idea how much I depend on technology until it is not working. When the internet won't come up, or my cellphone battery needs to be charged I get irritated and wish things would move along faster. We live in a fast paced world with answers to most questions right at our fingertips. As a teacher I should be well aware of the wealth of information available to me and how to implement that in my classroom. I also need to be aware of what the students are using and know how to speak their "language." I think if we ignore these issues, we are turning the kids off to much of what we will teach. Integrating technology into the classroom will have more of a positive effect and draw students into their learning, giving them a larger internal database of information. I should be using the computer for simple tasks of making print handouts look sharper, keeping grades organized, creating and updating a class website, and exploring new sources of information so I can pass those on to my students.