Technology Operations and Concepts TL-IWhat is School? A place to teach students a million facts on a million topics? A place where students can rephrase what the teacher said? Are schools a place where students can show off their knowledge by taking lots of tests? I don't think these are my goals in teaching or my own learning. I moved from simple recall to deeper understanding. I believe technology is something necessary in today's world to collaborate, manipulate, research, debate, explain and present ideas. I believe it is my job as an educator to find a way to help students use technology more effectively. I think, in a way, technology has always been a part of my learning since high school. I remember using the word processor to write essays. Then, in college, I used technology to express my own ideas, but I don't remember professors using it to teach me. I remember using technology to memorize information or write my opinion, but not as a collaboration tool. This way of thinking didn't change until I started teaching in a district that hired new technology directors, replaced technology standards, invested money in technology resources, and built the infostructure district technology. This district's desire to use technology effectively has helped shape my view of technology in the classroom. In my early years as a teacher, one of the fears I had about using technology was that I would use an app and later it would become a problem. exceeds. I didn't want to teach my students to use a certain piece of technology, but rather I wanted to teach them to use technology as a means of collaboration, manipulation...... middle of paper ......schools viewed technology as an obstacle or simply as something that was not necessary. This being one of the bad sides of the spectrum, it showed me how much I didn't want to use technology. . I think it helped me to be able to impact student learning by knowing what not to do. Schools that supported technology showed me ways to use technology to improve student outcomes and spark their interest in learning. These schools showed me that I could provide students with tools to collaborate, manipulate, research, debate, explain, and present ideas. These are skills that students need today to fully develop and participate in the world at large. I believe that as a teacher using technology, I give my students the tools to use and guide them in using the tools, but it is not the tools that are important but the process in which they enable students. students to participate..