Blending the Classroom: Including New Media Tools in Education As the Common Core State Standards are implemented into elementary, middle, and high school curricula across the country, instructional practices must be adapted to meet new requirements and expectations. The use of technology is now at the heart of standards, which is a concern for many teachers for a wide variety of reasons, including lack of teacher training, decline in face-to-face communication skills, lack of student control , declining test scores and essential skills, and even the role of the teacher becoming obsolete (Wilson, 2013). As new media become more easily accessible, educators must carefully examine the technological tools available and consider how best to implement them in the classroom environment. In order to effectively implement and resolve all technology-related issues, educators must gain knowledge on how to use new media tools to obtain information, improve student experience, and enable students to be content producers themselves. Despite the fears and uncertainties of a changing educational landscape, educators must learn to teach in a blended classroom that uses both traditional teaching methods and practices and technology to purposefully enhance the student experience. students and cultivate key 21st century literacy skills. The emphasis is on the inclusion of technology. and new media in the classroom arise from the need for young people to become active digital citizens in a technologically advanced world. The new Common Core State Standards were initially adopted by individual states by choice in 2010 to ensure that all students leave their educational careers prepared for postsecondary endeavors (Common Core State Standards... ...middle of document.. ....teachers and districts must create consistent and clear plans for using technology in meaningful ways that will benefit both student learning and teaching practices. changes are significant and occurring quickly in order to prepare teachers for such philosophical change in teaching practices, clear communication must take place (Vance, Carlson, Lively, & Mastracchio Jr., 2013). , teachers must receive sufficient professional development to improve their skills with new media integrated with effective technology in the classroom. Integration is important and this is what makes moving towards a blended classroom more effective. “Technology integration is not easy, it is a three-step process that involves the teacher learning the technology…” before students even have access to it (Sabzian, Gilakjani, Pourhosein). , & Sodouri, 2013).