2- Amanda Ainsworth- Response to "How Teachers are Integrating Technology into the Common Core"

          Fred Sitkins’s article, “How Teachers are Integrating Technology into the Common Core”, is written by an elementary school principal from Michigan and is about the ways different teachers are integrating technology into their classrooms. In this article, Sitkins portrays his excitement that young children are being taught on apps for the iPad in schools. He highlights a few different apps that he claims are good for teaching students to read, as well as helping them share their thoughts on the readings with their teachers and fellow students, all by using one app. He also talks about how these apps are allowing students to publish their writings, sometimes even on global levels.  He also comments on how the Common Core is helping to make sure students are able to adapt to and use the technology around them. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are curriculum standards that most if not all schools are starting to adhere to. Standards have been added to ensure that students are able to integrate technology into all subjects. Sitkins is excited that this change came about right as it started becoming normal for children to have access to gadgets like the iPad.

            I think that using these apps and different types of technology in the classroom is okay to a certain extent. While I feel it is important that students grasp a firm understanding of the technology of the ages, I do not believe that it should take the place of regular instruction. I believe that students should be taught to read and write in traditional ways and if they feel the need, they can supplement this with technology. I think that teachers should integrate some technology, such as PowerPoint, into their teachings, but I also think students should have a separate class that is purely a technology class, especially elementary students. Young children should not be fully dependent on technology. I do not believe that technology is bad, nor do I believe it has no place in our classrooms and curriculum. I just believe that we should realize that there is a time and place for it, especially in schools. I’m all for a technology class and even using some technology in the classroom, as long as it does not come at the expense of other educational opportunities.