February 2, 2011
Cecelia Courter
ED 486
Technology Interview

 	For this assignment, I sent interview questions to several educators that I have had the fortune of knowing.  Each of them has taught me something and I have mentored many of them as well.  I chose these educators because I respect each of their thoughts and opinions.  The educators range from law professors to school administrators; elementary teachers to preschool teachers; and college professors to deans.  Unfortunately, not all of them had the time to respond.  I did get plenty to format a synopsis of this topic.  I asked each educator four simple questions.  The first question was “What do you see as the main issues regarding technology in education today?”  The second question was “Do you view technology use in education as a positive or negative? Why?”  The third questions was “How do you use technology as a teaching tool?” The fourth, and final question was “How can technology integration in education be improved?” From the various answers I received, I came up with the top five issues educators have with technology, differences and similarities in their perspectives, and my opinion on technology in education.
	The top five issues that were identified by the educators was the cost of technology, the upkeep of technology, the lack of knowledge that many educators have about technology, the lack of support from administrators, and the distraction that technology can cause in the classroom environment.  All of the educators that I interviewed said that technology was costly to purchase and difficult to keep going.  Most schools have a lack of funding in general.  Tapping money into technology is difficult to do.  If a school is able to purchase different types of media for the classroom, keeping the technology running at the optimal level is nearly impossible.  Most schools do not have a technology specialist on staff.  Many times there is one staff member that is fairly literate in technology.  This staff member gets informally labeled as the “tech” teacher.  For many different reasons, administrators can be less than supportive for integrating technology.  These reasons are usually related to cost, upkeep, opposition from parents, and distraction that technology can bring to children.  Technology can be distracting when students veer from the task at hand and end up multitasking on social networking sites or games.  
	It was interesting to see the different points of view that came from classroom teachers, administrators, and professors.  Classroom teachers pointed out the lack of knowledge and support from administrators.  The administrators in the group interviewed pointed out the lack of money and resources for upkeep.  The professors of the group highlighted the distraction that technology creates during a college lecture.  All of these points are valid, but the educators definitely saw the problems in technology integration through their own eyes.  
	There were many positives highlighted during the interviews.  The teachers pointed out the internet as a researching tool when making lesson plans.  They also listed blogging, parent correspondence, and colleague connections as a positive aspect of technology implementation.  Administrators and professors also mentioned these aspects but also spoke about the implications for research.  Students are now able to research and find large amounts of information at a much quicker rate.  Students can create their own masterpiece or identity. 
	Although I see the negative aspects, I tend to see these as obstacles that can be overcome as we perfect technology integration in the educational system.  I like to focus on the potential that technology poses in the classroom.  Students can have immediate interaction from people in different countries.  They can see real-time pictures of local and international geographical sites.  Anyone can publish their music, writing, art, or photography.  The possibilities are endless.  Our challenge as educators for the future generations is to learn how to engage them.  We have to learn to be proficient in technology because they already are there.  To keep their respect and their attention we must meet the students at their level.