Curriculum Area - How is it related to technology?

Tell your students that the area of a trapezoid is equal to one half the height times the sum of the bases, then showing them visually on the board how cutting a trapezoid in half will turn it into a parallelogram, hence where the formula comes from and watch as their eyes glaze over. Then turn on your smarboard to the powerpoint slide, where the formula is written in the exact same way you wrote on the chalkboard, click the link to the concepts in motion where the picture you drew on the board is colored in and animated and watch as every student's eyes are suddenly paying attention even though they may have already understood the concept.

Technology has become such an integral part of so many of our lives, that its absence has the ability to bore us, and make us feel as though we are ready to tune out. Yes, you may say that there is no difference between having color-coded notes on a chalkboard, and having those same notes on a powerpoint slide, but ask a student and they will tell you a very different story. Maybe the information is the same, but the way it is presented is in a way that engages students differently. No matter what the subject matter, I have realized from my students that if we don't incorporate technology in any small way into that topic that students will suddenly feel bored and disengage themselves from learning.