Now that I’ve finished my MA in English Literature I need a new challenge.  It’s not in me to stop – which is probably a good thing, considering.  Like I tell my students, learning doesn’t stop when you graduate high school, or convocate university, or complete a training program.  Learning is lifelong.

For me, for the next year, learning will focus around technology.  Specifically, integrating technology into my classroom.  Oh, I do a lot already – my students have writing blogs and post book reviews on another blog; we go over the use of Inspiration and Word; we use the internet for research (and go over how to evaluate a source, and note that Wikipedia is not an acceptable academic source although it’s great for ideas).  My students use cameras and create PowerPoint presentations.  But I want more.  I want to encourage them to use technology to continue conversations that we have in class, to enhance the learning we do.  Right now, I feel like most of the technology in my classroom records learning rather than enhances it.  That’s what I’m looking for.

Our school has received a technology grant this year that will allow us to purchase an iPad lab for the school, which helps increase the accessibility, but it’s easy to get caught up in the “ooh shiny” mindset (I am particularly prone to this in my personal life, I know).  So what I want to work through is how to effectively use the tools we have to increase engagement, improve learning and prepare my students for our digital world.

This blog will help me record and share my journey.