All Aboard Classroom 2.0: Making Great Strides for Education!

For most of my years in grade school, I can remember growing up in a classroom that was primarily 1.0. My closest encounters with technology were my teacher's presentations from the overhead projector or my monthly visits to the computer lab where I was able to play Heritage Trail. I remember receiving worksheet after worksheet from my teachers and learning my lessons in much the same, teacher-centered way throughout the years. The lessons I was most excited about were those that were fun and interactive, however they happened a lot less frequently than I would have liked. As new technology continues to be invented throughout the years, schools have increasingly begun to shift from 1.0 to 2.0 classrooms. My seven year brother will third grade student at Otisville Elementary School next fall. His school is fortunate enough to have a Smartboard in every classroom! He often uses the Smartboard to play educational games and become actively involved in his lessons. Many of his teachers have had web pages which share the weekly homework assignments, upcoming events, and even a copy of the text books for each subject. Teachers today have begun to make a shift in their phase of technology from phase one where they use their technology solely for presentations to phase three where both their students and themselves are actively engaged with technology. Sadly, some teachers remain Digital Immigrants. There are still those teachers who place book shelves in front of their Smartboards and leave them unused. However, teachers today are making great strides to transform their classrooms and teaching styles. What lies ahead is a very exciting journey with technology for students and teachers alike!