I get this question often - and it pops up frequently on my IT teacher forums and Nings. IT teachers as a group are struggling to understand their future role: are computer skills to be taught in dedicated computer-room-based IT lessons, or should the teaching of these skills be integrated into standard classroom lessons?

Here are a few points to consider.

Every day in my K-8 tech classes, I use a variety of cloud-based tools to enhance the learning experience for my students. There are more of these 'Web 2.0' tools than I can keep up with, but when you teach tech or coordinate technology for your school, 'keeping up' is part of your job.

Here's how I determine which of these hundreds (thousands?) of tools are student-ready:

• Before I introduce a tool to my class, I try it myself. Can I get it to work with ease? Is it intuitive or will it require teaching? Does it work as promised? Are there intrusive ads? Will students get distracted as they work through the steps required to complete the assignment?
• Next, I query my social networks to determine the experiences of fellow tech teachers. Have they had much success with this tool? Any problems they ran into? Is it stable? If my e-colleagues find that the glamour of the Web tool is only skin deep, I move on. Of course, sometimes I'm ahead of the curve and my colleagues are unfamiliar with the tool. In truth, that rarely happens. There's always someone somewhere who has experience.

Technology, the internet, computers, are words that confuse, even frighten, many parents. In my blog, Ask a Tech Teacher, I post lots of tips, tricks, a list of hundreds of kid-friendly websites, self-help articles on how to address this in your homeschooled child's education. Every week, I get lots of questions from parents about the right way to address access to technology. Most want suggestions on how to make computer use a positive experience for their little ones.

After fifteen years of teaching technology in a classroom and online, I can tell you without a doubt that educating your child can be done more efficiently and with better results in the world of computers. I don't mean ONLY on computers. I mean using technology to extend your scholastic reach:

‘Web 2.0’ is a term familiar to all teachers. Stated in its simplest form, it’s the set of interactive internet-based tools used by students to enrich educational opportunities. ‘Web 1.0’ referred to the act of accessing websites—nothing more. Students read websites, clicked a few links, and/or researched a topic.

Web 2.0—Web-based education basics--includes blogs, wikis, class internet homepages, class internet start pages, twitter, social bookmarks, podcasting, photo sharing, online docs, online calendars, even Second Life—all tools that require thoughtful interaction between the student and the site. For teachers, it’s a challenge to keep up with the plethora of options as the creative minds of our new adults stretch the boundaries of what we can do on the internet.

In schools, there are twenty problems that cause about eighty percent of the tech stoppages. I’m going to tell you what those are and how to solve them [using a Windows operated system]. Trust me, they’re easier than you think to correct. I routinely teach them to children and then they teach their parents.

I’ll tell you the problem first, then why it generally occurs, and finally, the most common solution to fix it:

Deleted a file

Why: By accident or changed my mind                 
What to do: Open Recycle Bin; right-click—restore

There's a secret to teaching kids how to use the computer. It's called 'delegate'. I don't mean delegate the teaching to aides or parents. Here, I'm referring to empowering students to be their own problem-solvers, then expect it of them. Here's how you do it:

• Let them know that computers aren't difficult. Aw, come on. I see your scrunched faces. Here's the ugly little truth: Computers are only hard to learn if kids are told they're hard to learn. Don't mention it. Compare keyboarding to piano--a skill lots of kids feel good about--or another one that relates to your particular group. Remove the fear. They might not believe you, but you're the teacher so they'll give you a chance.

I’ve been teaching technology to year 1 through to year 6 for almost fifteen years. Parents and colleagues are constantly amazed that I can get the littlest learners to pay attention, remember, and have fun with the skills that are required to grow into competent, enthusiastic examples of the Web 2.0 generation.

I have a confession to make: it’s not as hard as it looks. Sure, those first few reception months, when they don’t know what the words enter and backspace mean, nor the difference between the keyboard and headphones, and don’t understand why they can’t grab their neighbour’s headphones or bang on their keyboard, I do re-think my chosen field. But that passes. By January, every parent tour that passes through my classroom thinks I’m a magician.