TASK

As teachers, we need to recognize the positive benefits of using technology to enhance our students' literacy learning. Teachers can do this by educating themselves and then helping others to learn more about technology. This is indeed a significant relationship as exemplary teachers of technology share their knowledge, in turn, more teachers will become educated and share their findings with others.

There are several ways that exemplary teachers like The Miss Rumphius Award winners can share their ideas, understandings, and activities with others in the world. The key to this communication is the Internet. The Internet is a way for teachers to communicate without ever leaving their classrooms. With a click of the mouse, teachers can be taken right to the “cutting edges of technology” going on in classrooms. The task of teachers is to make connections with other teachers to gain support, guidance, models, and knowledge. 

With one or several of your colleagues, you are to make “connections” with exemplary teachers of technology by using the Internet. These connections come in many forms. You may want to browse The Miss Rumphius Award winners site, join a list serve or mailing list, e-mail a Miss Rumphius award winner directly, join a collaborative project, or read interviews of Miss Rumphius Award winners by going to Reading Online: Teachers' Voices. While you are making connections with other teachers, you will want to keep a journal of any ideas, materials, or activities that you become familiar with as you journey through the Internet. These notes will be helpful when you set up your own “Resources Guide” for implementing technology into your classroom.