In 2017, teachers, pending where they are teaching, face the challenge of educating students that spend a high number of hours each day engaged by media. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation study, which followed 2,000 young people between ages 8 to 18, kids spend almost as much time on a computer, watching television, using their cell phones, playing video games or listening to music as an adult spends during a full day at work (CBS News, 2010). The time that students spend using the computers poses a problem for teachers because teachers either have to meet the students that they are teaching where they are and use technology when teaching, or they must try to teach their students to engage in learning using methods that do not interest students. If teachers are not able to incorporate technology into their lessons, it is possible that the trend of students spending hours in front of a television, on their phones, or surfing the web using their computers will conflict with study time and eventually impact student learning. Nearly half (47 percent) of the young people who were classified as heavy users in a Kaiser study - meaning they consume more than 16 hours of media in a typical day - say they usually get fair or poor grades (mostly C grades or lower), compared to 23 percent of moderate users, who consume anywhere from three to 16 hours of content. Heavy users are also more likely to get into trouble, and are often sad, unhappy, or bored, according to the study (CBS News, 2010). Teachers need more training to teach students using media. However, it is even questioned whether or not teachers should be trained to teach their students using a media format. The question of whether or not teachers should use technology can be answered by looking at the performance of the students in an individual assigned to a given teacher. If the students are doing well, then there is not a need to look at other methods of instruction. However, if the academic performance of students assigned to a particular teacher is low, then incorporating technology into the classroom should be considered to meet the needs of today's learners.
Teachers interested in learning what technology is available to help engage students in their daily lessons should find a blog, or Twitter account to 'follow', or sign up for membership for a newsletter that features the types of technologies used in classrooms. Word of mouth is a good source to find good technology sources. Google searches are also beneficial. Below are a few technology tools that can help teachers start incorporating technology into their lessons. It is recommended that teachers always ask the questions 1) What do I need for the technology to do? 2) How will I know if the technology is doing what I need for it to do? and 3) If the technology is not helping my students why am I using it?
Blendspace is a tool that provides many possibilities such as curating resources and flipping classrooms. The program can be used to 1) flip your classroom 2) present student work and 3) teach a lesson.
Animoto
Animoto is a cloud-based video creation service that produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows. Animoto can be used in education for countless projects and presentations. Students can use the tool to present a concept. A teacher could use the video as an introduction to a lesson. A teacher could also use the tool to teach a concept or the tool itself to other educators, (Wikipedia, 2017)
Symbaloo
Access your bookmarks and online favorites with Symbaloo. Symbaloo can be used in the classroom to help teachers organize digital content for easier access. Sybaloo can also be used in other creative ways in education.
Realtimeboard
Realtimeboard is an online whiteboard. Realtimeboard allows for collaborative activities. Multiple users can write on the whiteboard simultaneously.
References
CBS News. (2010, January 20). Youths Spend 7+ Hours/Day Consuming Media. Retrieved from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/youths-spend-7-plus-hours-day-consuming-media/
Wikipedia. (2017). Animoto. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animoto
Teachers interested in learning what technology is available to help engage students in their daily lessons should find a blog, or Twitter account to 'follow', or sign up for membership for a newsletter that features the types of technologies used in classrooms. Word of mouth is a good source to find good technology sources. Google searches are also beneficial. Below are a few technology tools that can help teachers start incorporating technology into their lessons. It is recommended that teachers always ask the questions 1) What do I need for the technology to do? 2) How will I know if the technology is doing what I need for it to do? and 3) If the technology is not helping my students why am I using it? 
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