Technology has been around as long as there have been teachers. We think of technology as computers, but technology is really just the newest device designed to make our lives easier. A teacher in the 1800s thought of technology as a wall-sized blackboard! To her that was a huge leap from hand-held slates and offered her myriad possibilities for teaching. But the teachers who had not been trained in using this "modern" curiosity had to learn how to teach using a blackboard. There were workshops and books about it! Today, whiteboards are so common that you don't even think about them. Today's technology is computers and electronic devices that we can use to help us teach. If you learned with technology during your college training, you probably feel familiar with it and are comfortable incorporating it into your teaching. If you didn't learn with technology, you most likely avoid it and don't see how it can help you. If you use technology to your advantage, it can be the tool of your dreams. There are three main areas in where you can use it. With your students In your presentations and teaching For research and classroom management Click here to find out more about using technology in your teaching. To keep current with the newest technology available, attend school or district workshops when they are offered, go to conferences on the newest trends in your field, attend technology conferences designed for teachers - the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) sponsored by the Florida DOE is one of the largest such conferences in the United States for teachers. Technology is constantly changing. You can always use word processors, grade books and planners, and even educational software. But keep on top of the newest items that might be affecting your classroom and your content area. Prices are always coming down and technology is always getting better. Did you know that in the 1960s, when the first hand-held calculators came out they were nearly the size of a paperback book and could only add, subtract, multiply and divide? Today they are as thin as a credit card and can do scores of complex mathematical functions. You probably use them all the time. Technology is there to help you in your class.