Education technology and its value to our students

Fantastic News! I've been selected at my school to be part of a team of teachers who will teach students in the AVID Program (Advancement Via Individual Determination). I am so excited about it. We will be engaging with the new education technology such as wikis, pod casts, and RSS feeds in our classes. The goal of this program is to bring the middle performing student to the top of the class, so that each can see his or her fullest potential. While I am just becoming familiar with these new forms of technology, I am excited about learning more with my students as they explore collaborative team work and academic rigor. 


I've noticed that some of my colleagues are a little apprehensive about all this technology and collaboration. They have argued that the core skills of reading, writing and math need to be reinforced, as opposed to pushing the production end of ideas and concepts. I understand their fear, and I agree that proficiency in core concepts must be restored, but if we are to glean for the best minds, we have to understand that as we teach core values we must also teach students how digital technology can be used for the useful construction of ideas, which are marketable, and in the long run beneficial for the world.