Introduction

Welcome to the CACTES blog. This blog will explore the integration of technology into the classroom environment. Primarily my focus is the Contextual Application of Computers and other Technology by Educators and Students.

I am an educator with over 15 years of teaching in the classroom. I have worked with computers and a variety of technology since I was about ten. I am not an expert at all things but I am familiar enough with a variety of technologies to help me understand the contextual application of these technologies in the classroom. I spend the better part of my days keeping up with various pieces of technology and learning new pieces of technology. I guess you could call it a hobby. Obviously I do this because it greatly interests me and I hope to help as many teachers understand this technology.

Most teachers were not born into this world of technology and it leaves many of them feeling threatened at times by the technology and the fact that their children and students know more about this than they ever will. This is one of the challenges I hope to discuss with this blog. I am an Instructional Technology Specialist working for the Ysleta Independent School District in Texas. My current position in the district affords me the opportunity to meet with teachers and discuss the opportunities to integrate a variety of technology into their lesson plans.

This summer, of 2010, we will have an opportunity to train large groups of teachers in the contextual integration of technology into their classroom lessons. Surprisingly, even though our district has had an abundance of technology resources, we have spent more time teaching the technology and less demonstrating and applying the integration. I will report on the lessons learned this summer.

That then is the point of this blog. I want to explore the various experiences I have with teachers in the contextual application of technology into the learning process. I will bring my own experience and expertise into most of the entries. I will also cite a variety of reputable resources.

The integration of technology into the classroom is here and will be a ubiquitous piece of a regular instructional day in the future. Let’s learn now and be ready for the future.