CLRN

I visited the CLRN website and there certain things that I found interesting:

1. The site offers (ELR) Electronic Learning Resources which all educators can benefit from to enhance technology based learning in the classroom.

2. The site also offers monthly newsletters and it is a great resource for teachers, parents, and administrators.

3. The best thing about this site is that content standards can be searched based on grade level along with the given subject. A chart will appear with the lessons accompanied by the type/media such as software, video, Internet, CD Rom, Floppy, or DVD.

Technology in the classroom is a way to facilitate learning for the students. Many students respond better when lessons are technology based. The district that I work in has incorporated different websites into the math curriculum which correspond to each lesson. These websites offer numerous activities the students can do either at school or at home that will reinforce/reteach what they learned in the classroom. Also, the district has implemented a math computer program by the name of Cognitive Tutor that allows the teachers to customize the math lessons and problems according to the level of the students. For example, if a student needs extra help in long division Cognitive Tutor can be customized so that when that student logs in he/she is working on long division problems. On the other other hand, if a student is able to do algebraic equations the program can me customized so that student works on equivalent equations. Cognitive Tutor also keeps track of each students' progress and for how long they were logged in to the program. All the data is saved including the last problem the student was one before exiting.

It is important that students are exposed to technology in the classroom because technology can be used as way to accommodate different learning needs especially for special education students. Special education students benefit from visuals such as a power point presentation or even books on tape. Many companies that manufacture literature books now offer the option to school districts of also ordering supplemental resources such as stories and books on CDs.

I believe that technology is taking over classrooms and although it may be difficult for teachers to find ways to implement technology it is important to use technological resources in the classroom. Furthermore, as part of the language arts benchmarks in the district I work in there is PBL (project based learning) that has to be completed by the students. The PBLs allow the students to explore various websites that interact with the theme of a core novel.