Life has carved a path for my future -- one which embraces my love for teaching, devotion to learning, and contributing to a stronger world -- today and tomorrow -- by embedding self-sufficiency and responsibility in every student. Durable strategies to this path, therefore, must include all learning styles: visual -- 'seeing' the process by seeking pictures and diagrams to explain new processes; auditory -- verbally talking the process through with another and rejecting the technological discussion and manual; and kinesthetic / tactile -- performing the same action again and again until it works.

Clearly, this desire to teach and teach in a way that all students get the most from the learning adds an extra dimension to my personal directives. Integrating modern technology into the learning process demands this balanced approach to preparing today's student for tomorrow's leadership.

Integrating Technology into Learning

Technological awareness and skill is critical to future success and quality of living. Consider the process for checking a book out of the library, for example. No longer is the card system found in major libraries; one must operate the 'dumb' terminal to search the Dewey-Decimal files and locate the material desired.

Banks, groceries, gas stations, even the basic Constitutional rights to vote are all migrating more and more toward the technology of the 21st century. Those who cannot navigate the waters will inevitably be left behind.

Before I can begin teaching my student's critical learning skills, technological survival abilities, and open the world to them, I must first teach them basics. Many have never used a mouse or keyboard and navigating even the simplest program requires an understanding of the computer's components to be effective.

By the time this process is completed, I have no time for the State and school-mandated lessons!

Successful Methodology

Dedicating a portion of my precious teaching time to technology has been constructive in teaching my students the patterns for Internet access but working with a group of teachers unable to implement this technology into daily lesson plans has to be one of my most frustrating obstacles to enhancing the technology integration for my students.

Change is frightening for most people, and teachers are not exempt from this limiting characteristic. Time, money, and teachers to teach the teachers are in short supply; the enthusiastic technological neophyte must typically, therefore, teach themselves how to use, navigate, and get the most from the technology so they are qualified to use it in teaching their students.

Most teachers lack the comfort levels, time, energy, or interest to upgrade their personal skills in ways to communicate and teach through technology.

Technology Teaches the Teacher

Despite my own technological awareness and proficiency, the rate of information and technology change is escalating instead of deescalating. With the plethora of tools, information, collaboration, resources, and dedicated industry-sites available through information technology, my teaching style and skill set benefits each time I use them to create lesson plans, download specific software or firmware, or research a child's particular question.

Future Goals for…