Throughout the learning process, technology resources can be powerful tools in ensuring the success of our students. Their potential is optimized when resources are used to construct meaning, communicate information, and develop higher order thinking skills. Misunderstood by teachers, administrators, and parents, the role of technology in schools today must be clarified by every stakeholder in the education of today's young people so that its use and impact are maximized.

Each and every requirement of this course provided insight into the mindset of individuals in the field. The engaging dialogue in various discussion forums prompted examination of current practices as well as redefining goals. Collaboration opportunities with peers to complete the teacher interview comparison and team article summary caused consideration of multiple perspectives and a more thoughtful understanding of group dynamics that often comes into play with our own students. What individuals believe about the instructional process and how students learn came through loud and clear in the technology integration learning plans. Consideration of these clarified my belief that one has to meet teachers where they are and come alongside with applicable teaching methodologies and technology applications to equip them so that they will be better able to equip their students. Wherever teachers are on the technology continuum, integration of technological resources should be woven seamlessly into their curriculum in adaptive and transforming ways. Foundations of Educational Technology lays the groundwork for that process.

Organizing ideas and information to create a semantic network (.isf) (.rtf) to represent my current understanding of the multiple connections between teaching, learning, and technology was a valuable experience. Since the process occurred at the end of the course, it involved concerted assimilation of my own beliefs and ideas in order to generate this visual representation illustrating the interrelatedness of these concepts. At this point, it would be impossible for me to consider any one of the three in isolation for an extended period of time. To do so in practice would drastically limit their potential effectiveness. As John Dewey said, “All learning begins with the learner. What children know and what they want to learn are not just constraints on what can be taught; they are the very foundation for learning." When one couples that observation with Provenzo’s assertion that, “We have passed a threshold grounded in technology, which brings with it a new curriculum and to a significant degree, new models of instruction for our classroom,” one must conclude that, teaching, learning, and technology should be inextricably interwoven in the education of today's students.

“As teachers, we must constantly try to improve schools, and we must keep working at changing and experimenting and trying until we have developed ways of reaching every child.” ~ Albert Shanker