The article on Augmented Reality is very interesting. What I find most interesting about it is the fact that it can be used with a cell phone. That would work well for my school if we allowed students to bring their own devices. I like that it seems to be more accessible than VR. Like many educators, I get excited about new technology and trying something different to engage students. The author of the article gives a clear warning about the use of AR. He states, “The best role for augmented reality is as a supplementary tool, rather than as a primary method of delivering content. So, while teachers can use it to bring lessons to life, they also need to maintain a focus on more traditional ways of delivering content. Augmented reality is best suited to enhancing those traditional lessons rather than acting as stand-alone methods of instruction.” (educationcorner). As a teacher, I have to examine the content that I teach and the resources that are already available to make sure that when I use AR in the classroom, it is supplemental and does not take away from the main objective of the lesson.

According to Dick in the government technology article when it comes to AR/VR, “Cost is still an issue, and generally, understanding how these technologies can fit into existing curricula and pedagogical approaches really needs to happen before this can actually explode in a way a lot of people would like to see it.”  It is my hope that we can find funding through grants or in the budget to expand our access to these two resources. History is viewed by most students as a boring subject. Any tool that will make the content more engaging for students would be helpful.

Administrators play a key role in teacher buy in to new technology as well. According to the article 7 strategies to get teacher buy-in on new technologies, “Professional development focused on technology can secure teacher buy-in by clearly showing teachers how new tools will help them build a better classroom. By doing this, you can effect meaningful changes quickly, in a way that motivates everyone–parents, teachers, and students”. I agree with this because I have seen it work first hand. About 6 years ago, our school district had a professional learning day solely for technology. Teachers chose four or five new technology ideas they wanted to learn about and rotated classes as if we were in school. What made the professional learning meaningful is that teachers from the various schools were presenters. The professional learning provided us the opportunity to see how the technology could work with the demographic of students that we teach. 

Finally most teachers probably think they are doing a good job when it comes to technology however the author of the Student’s Perception article makes a very good point when the article states, “Teachers should see how they are being perceived in their tech usage. They may believe that they are being innovative with technology; however, as an example, students may not see the use of slides as innovative. Having teachers take a reflective  innovative  technology  usage  survey and  compare  it  to  students’  perceptions of innovative technology use among their students  could  provide  interesting  and relevant results”.  One of the things I do as a teacher is reflect on what I do and do student surveys. I  plan to add a technology component to my student survey at the end of the school year.