When I was hired to help students and teachers integrate technology, I had in mind an idea of the type of software I wanted - creative, open-ended tools that we could use in project-based learning across the curriculum. I want my students to love learning, to go home and say, “School was so much fun today. I learned so much!” My goal was to find software that was so easy to learn that almost all of the focus would be on the content, not the application. When I came across Tech4Learning tools, I knew I had found the answer.

I introduced the tools to my students using the Recipes4Success tutorials. After students were comfortable with the basics of the program, we started working on projects. I immediately began hearing from parents who wanted to know what we were doing that had their child so excited about school! Tech4Learning tools helped transform the computer lab into the type of learning environment I had envisioned – student-centered, project-based, sharing and collaborative- where computers are used as a means to an end, not an end in their own right.

My next goal was to extend the reach of these tools and transformations beyond the lab. I could write pages of examples of ways that we are using T4L at our school in project after project to write, draw, create, animate, share, and collaborate.

The nature of Tech4Learning tools has made them invaluable to us as we create and share with others. They are the pencil that my students use with which to write. Having tools that are easy to use, yet allow them complete freedom of expression, is enabling my students to be part of the web 2.0 learning revolution.

I want my students to know that they have a voice, that what they think and feel is important, and that they can use their words and voices to stand up for what matters to them. For KinderKids draw, my K students use Pixie to make their drawings. On our 4th grade blog my students use Pixie to illustrate their posts and Image Blender to create custom headers. My first graders are using Pixie to create a class movie about things that matter to them and we post their work online.

Tech4Learning tools are helping to change the way teaching and learning look and sound at our school. Since Tech4Learning tools top the list of my favorite applications, I have shared them enthusiastically with my colleagues. In my third year here, I am now seeing the fruits of my efforts. Teachers are reaching for the tools themselves and using them more independently.

The beauty of tech4learning tools is that the teacher can guide the content and integrate the tools, without needing to be well-versed in the software. It is a shift in the process, and one I think is extremely important. Teachers are learning, not only from me, but from their students as well.