Technology Supported Learning - Introduction

The media's attention on our nation's dependence on computer technology has no greater evidence than the impact of technology on our nation's schools. Schools are spending more money on acquiring computing hardware than on training teachers to integrate technology into everyday classroom lessons. Research has shown that learning will be transformed in classrooms to the extent that teachers become comfortable with using technology as a cognitive tool. As future teachers move through schools of education, technology must be viewed as both an educational delivery method and an instructional communication tool. Quality teaching in the 21st century will require teachers to be knowledgeable about a technology influenced student body and how to create learning environments which integrate technology in the support and delivery of instruction. Teachers in the new millennium should view technology as a cognitive tool that has the potential of encouraging inquiry-based learning and reinforcing instructional concepts, Planning technology connected lessons will require teachers to think more creatively about how students learn and plan lessons which respond to the vast variety of