How can you effectively integrate technology into your teaching and learning?

For me personally I am going to try to use technology in my classroom as much as possible. I will not have any handouts or study guides on paper, they will all be online on a wiki, however I would make exceptions for those who have no computer at home. I would also us blogging to hand in all papers and to write journal entry about the material being taught. But once again we have to make exceptions. Its really something I want to do, this way my student will have to be organized and will not have to deal with all that paper. Not to mention it will also keep me organized as a teacher, which is one of the most important parts of the classroom. I will also use Google earth a lot in my classroom, I think that Google earth could make my two subjects really connect and would be really exciting for my students. In Geography I would use it to look at the earth and its uniqueness, all of the great landmarks of the earth like the grand canyon, or Mount Saint Helens, and for history I would bring my students to the place that we are studying so that my students can actually see what we are studying instead of having to imagine it. I will also use the smart board extensively if I get one in my classroom. Talking to my sister this week, she told me that they just got two of them and she is really excited about, although the older teachers of course are skeptical of the new technology. But if I get one I will use it a lot in class because I think it is a great tool. Lastly I will make use of PowerPoint when ever I can because they are simple and kids don’t have to take notes, instead they can really pay attention to the information, and I can post them online instead of them taking notes while trying to also absorb the information.