1. http://youreducationdoctor.wordpress.com/tag/classroom-technology/

2. I have no time. There are already too many standards to teach. I dont have the resources. I have a lower ability group of students. I do not feel that technology should be such a focus ineducation. My students are too young. My students do not have access to technology at home. I have so many students at various needs that I cant give themall individual support. As educators, we need to stay current with the world around us so that we have a better understanding of how to fully prepareour students to be successful. While there are many challengeswithin our classrooms, online learning environments can help tosupport both teachers and students in the learning process. It isnot meant to change your teaching, but to support you inteaching. 3. Teaching in the 21st Century 4. In a national poll by the Partnership for 21st CenturySkills, 80% of the U.S. registered voters who werepolled said the public education system is notpreparing young people to compete in the globalmarket (Young, Birtolo, & McElman, 2009). A survey conducted by Project Tomorrow found thatonly 23% of students polled said they believed theirschool was doing a good job preparing them for futurejobs (Young, Birtolo, & McElman, 2009). Are we doing everything necessary to expand ourstudents thinking and to prepare them for the future? 5. Online Learning can be defined as education in whichinstruction and content are delivered primarily via theInternet (Cavanaugh & Clark, 2007). Online learning can give students opportunities todemonstrate mastery of academic concepts while usingtodays tools and resources (Young, Birtolo, &McElman, 2009). Virtual Learning Environments give studentsopportunities to work together in small groups to developproblem-solving, communication, and creativecollaboration skills (Young, Birtolo, & McElman, 2009). 6. Building 21st Century skills in our students isincredibly important in strengthening theirfoundation of grade level subject areas, whilealso helping students become more globallyaware and competent (Young, Birtolo, &McElman, 2009). We need to prepare students for the future by notjust teaching grade level standards, but alsoencourage that they demonstrate their learning athigher levels. It is our responsibility to teach our students to becritical thinkers, learn to collaborativelycommunicate with others, and also be globallyaware. 7. Encourages collaboration between students both inschool and at home Can be used to promote various kinds of writing Content can be modified in order to meet studentsvarious learning needs Multimedia tools create interactive, engaging content andinstructional methods (Cavanaugh & Clark, 2007) Students who are gifted can learn grade level materialand expand their learning through the use of onlinelearning environments Support students multiple learning styles 8. Learning Logs students can journal their reflections ofactivities or new concepts learned in class. Live Chat students can communicate with others inorder to work on projects or get help with homework. Forum posting students can post files, pictures, andvideos and can critique each others work. Multiple Choice Quizzes ability to give students multipleattempts to retake a quiz. Moodle can also give feedbackto students after each quiz to help them achieve adesired score. Writing Journals students can type journals using thisformat and then have the ability to respond to their peers. 9. Student created Glossary that all students can access. A list of websites and resources that students can access bothat school and home. Online Games create games, such as hangman, forstudents to use to review concepts and/or vocabulary Writing Workshop students can upload their writing andedit/assess each others work based on a class rubric.Students can make changes before turning in their final drafts. Literature Circles & Book Clubs Embed projects (VoiceThreads, flickr, PowerPoint) Create a WebQuest Review notes and lessons Connect with parents access to assignments and calendarof events 10. Moodle (www.moodle.org) RCampus (www.rcampus.com) efront (www.efrontlearning.net) Haiku (www.haikulearning.com) 11. Cavanaugh, C., & Clark, T. (2007). The landscape of K-12 online learning. In R. Blomeyer, & C. Cavanaugh(Eds.), What works in K-12 online learning (pp. 5-19).Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology inEducation. Young, J., Birtolo, P., & McElman, R. (2009). VirtualSuccess: Transforming education through onlinelearning. Learning & Leading With Technology, 36(5), 12-17.