The first article is titled Developoing a Positive Mind-Set Toward the Use of Technology for Classroom Instruction. This article was written by Dr. Mabel CPO Okojie and Dr. Anthony Olinzock. The authors talk about the mind set of teachers and how teachers view computers as an after thought or a secondary tool in the classroom. They feel that teachers need to change their thinking when it comes to the use of computers in the classroom, and that teachers need to start their lesson planning with technology in mind and not as a supplement tool that is added later. The authors also make a great point about how saturated our society is with technology and that technology should be viewed as a curriculum component in each child's education. The article talks about teachers understanding of technology and how their understanding effects what they present to their students. The article states that more training needs to take place so that more teachers would be willing to include more technology into their daily classroom activities. Integrating technology into the classroom is going to be a process, but the training and expectations need to be in place for this process to work.
The next article touched on the subject of hand held computers in the classroom. This article was titled Implementing a Handheld Program: Lessons from a District-Level Initiative, and it was written by Willliam R. Penuel. A project named WHIRL provided one classroom with hand held computers for each student in the classroom. These computers provided students with quick access to valuable tools that helped them complete assignments and communicate with fellow students in the room. These computers provided a quick assessment tool for the teacher. The teacher could log on to any students computer and quickly assess where that individual is, or what that student may need. This sounds like a great idea, again my only question is the cost of the damaged or lost computers. I would like to think that the responsibility would fall on the parents, but what if these parents can't even pay a library fine. How would this same parent pay for the replacement of a computer? Hand held computers are a future teaching tool and I can see the benefits of each student having one, I just hope every concern is looked at before jumping into similiar programs such as WHIRL in every school.