"So much of what we've done in bringing technology into the classroom has been about speed. Emergent technology use is different. It requires time spent deeply considering the instructional value added by new tools and time spent crafting instruction that puts content and instructional goals ahead of teaching the technology."
-Sara Kadjer, "Unleashing Potential with Emergent Technologies"

As I have reflected on the use of technology in the classroom, I have considered it a way to do some aspects of traditional teaching in a faster way. My primary goal for using technology in the classroom would be to teach them technological literacy. Kadjer is arguing that this is a very common view, but that the opposite is in fact true. Educational technology should help students better achieve the learning outcomes of the class, not simply be a skill unto itself. Technological skills aren't going to mean much to students if they don't have a sense of what they can be used for and why they should be. In other, technology shouldn't just be adopted because it can be; a teacher really needs to think on its long-term utility before adopting it.

"'Classic' literature circles have used sets of novels, and this has certainly been a way to help kids find authors and genres of fiction. But since lit. circles are essentially well-structured collaborative learning applied to reading, the model is just as powerful and effective for non-fiction texts."
-Harvey Daniels, "What's the Next Big Thing with Literature Circles?"

I'm trying to figure out a way to use more non-fiction in my curriculum, as I think it is a genre underutilized by most English teachers. Daniels seems to agree with me. I wish I knew more non-fiction texts that would work well in a high school setting, and I definitely wish I knew how to get my hands on more class sets. Some of the books he mentioned in the article could be very useful.