The Importance of Varying Instructional Strategies

Responding to diverse student needs

No student learns in the same manner and technology allows the instructor to attempt to address all learning styles. Student’s culture and language skills may be considered as well when instructional strategies are being planned. The teacher needs to give feedback and urge student thinking when needed. The teacher also needs to observe the student’s progress and encourage on-task behavior of the class. Technology is changing so rapidly, I think that it will always impact the way I teach students in the 21^st century. Instead of fearing change, I welcome new ways to help my students achieve greater accomplishments than previously thought as unattainable.   

Marzano talks more about technology and instruction:

The "Wisdom of Bees" and what we can learn from them

Bees...............nature's little workers. Some people think that bees just go about their lives working away for the good of the colony. However, bees are more technologically advanced than biologists once thought.  In fact, bees use a complex mathematical formula to hunt for food called the Levy Flight Pattern where bees comb an area using jumps that vary in length. The bees must have learned this method from someone, and that brings me back to my point. Teachers often throw technology into the curriculum to keep students interested in the subject. Kind of like the way we once thought bees went about looking for food, students are to stumble through with little guidance, direction, or help. However, we know that in order to effectively use technology in the classroom, students need to have a specific reason to use the tool, a set rubric or guidelines on what to accomplish, and the help and direction of a teacher. Modeling what we want our students to accomplish is necessary in order to complete the task/assignment/project in the desired manner. 

Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27065/