I've been thinking a lot about new media lately, although not necessarily in the context of the classroom. My roommate works in print media, and we had a discussion recently about the Kindle, Apple's new iPad, and the possible ramifications for the newspaper and magazine industries as digital readers become a mainstream reality. Journalism is one of a large number of industries that is being forced to adapt or become extinct as technology rapidly evolves. The medium has changed dramatically in the last few years, and magazines and newspapers that have not figured out how to remain relevant in the new digital age are folding left and right.

As we talked about the disappearance of staples from our childhoods like video stores, record shops and book stores, I found myself thinking about how my own profession is changing. This week's readings really drove home the point that as a field, education should not remain stagnant while technology moves forward. It would be irresponsible for educators not to adapt to the changing world in which we find ourselves. If we do, we will surely lose our effectiveness.

The ideas behind UDL are ones I believe all educators strive for, although we may not have articulated them so clearly. How can we present information in such a way that it is accessible to all learners? How can we customize options for participation and expression so that students are able to demonstrate their knowledge of content, not their fluency with assignment formats? David Rose made an excellent point about the opportunities new technology affords us with respect to these goals: digital media is much more flexible than traditional media. It can carry the same information as traditional media but in a greater variety of formats, and this adaptability means that it is more accessible to a variety of learners.

Technology is changing and expanding at an incredible rate, and as someone who can barely navigate the new SmartBoard in my classroom, it can feel overwhelming to think about how to incorporate all these new formats into daily class routines. But at the same time, as an educator whose ultimate goal is to teach content by whatever means is most effective, I feel like it's important for me to familiarize myself with new media if it will facilitate learning and expression for my students. I hope schools step in to offer training and support to ease the transition from traditional media to the digital age so that the field of education can remain relevant as the rest of the world changes.