Technology Question

As the world moves further into the future, the human race continues to get more technologically advanced. This has created serious educational issues relating to how much technology should be used in the classroom. Upon careful thought one can see that all teachers must be required to incorporate modern technology into their instruction.
Currently, most any job in America and any college curriculum requires the use of technology. If students are not given the proper exposure to technology during their educational careers, they may be ill prepared to begin college or enter a job field that requires the use of technology. Whether or not a student learns technology can not be left up to chance by leaving technology use up to a teacher’s discretion. There needs to be a clear technological standard that all teachers are required to meet. This will ensure that all students are exposed to technology and are prepared to continue their life in a world that continues to require the use of more and more technology.
The aforementioned technological standard must also help to make students comfortable with exploring new technology. It is likely that when students go to college or enter the work force they will have to make use of technology that did not exist when they attended grade school and high school. Thus, teachers must not only be required to use technology in their classrooms, but they also must be required to use many different types of technology so that students learn how to become familiar with technology by exploration so that it is easier for them to pick up on how to use brand new types of technology. For example, instead of making use of only a TI-83 calculator in a math class, a teacher should also have days during which students can explore using a TI-92 calculator, Mathematica, or Matlab. This would allow the student to have less dependence on just one type of technology, and would allow students to be more comfortable with exploring different technologies because they would have learned how to do such exploration while in grade school or high school. Technology also can be a very helpful instructional tool because using technology like a TI-83 calculator can help students better visualize a lot of graphical mathematical material. So not only would a technological standard go a long way in helping students become better prepared for the work force, but it would also provide instructors with valuable instructional tools.
Clearly, the way the human race is evolving is making it necessary to incorporate modern technology in the classroom. A standard must be developed that ensures that all students receive equal opportunity when it comes to exposure to technology. This will ensure well prepared future generations.

Welcome

Hi, everyone. My name is Jeff Mudrock, and I am a junior at the University of Illinois. My major is mathematics with a minor in secondary education. My hometown is New Lenox, which is southwest of Chicago, near Joliet. My parents are both high school math teachers, so from an early age, mathematics education has been prominent in my life. I decided I wanted to become a high school math teacher early in high school. I chose this career because I wanted to do something with my life that would allow me to help young people and would allow me to do mathematics. When I told my parents that I wanted to become a high school math teacher, they gave me their blessings and seemed happy with my decision. I am very excited to be taking education courses at the University of Illinois because I feel that the university has a great mathematics education program from which I can learn a lot to improve my teaching skills before I set foot into my first high school classroom. I also love the mathematics courses that I have taken and am taking because these classes have continued to confirm my belief that mathematics is the most beautiful field one can possibly enter. My passion for mathematics is like a blazing fire within me that will never die. In the future, I plan to get a masters degree in pure mathematics from the University of Illinois immediately following my graduation in 2010. I then plan to teach for a few years in high schools while working on a doctorate in pure mathematics during the summers and in my spare time. All in all, I am very excited about where I am at in my life and am taking my time enjoying it.