Kristen was the first one who spoke to us. She is in her first year of teaching. She talked about how in her school, there were many teachers who didn't like the idea of using technology in the classroom. She talked about how there were many websites that were blocked, even sites that she found to be useful. Another issue that came up was that parents were not necessarily keen on the idea of their children using technology to post their work on-line. Parents have warmed up more to the idea after she explained to them the reasons of why it is useful for the students.
Kristen also gave us some ideas as to how she uses technology with her students. Her students blog about what they learned in class. You can check out the grade 8 blog here http://mrstsclassroom.blogspot.ca/
Another way that she has used technology in the classroom with her students is through using symbaloo. She uses symbaloo to organise her units and offers the resources she has found to her students. Her students have also started creating their own symbaloo resources.
Tiffany was the next one who spoke. She talked about how one of the main issues with using technology in her classroom was that her classroom was a DEAD ZONE! Wow! That would drive me bonkers. She, however, gave us some great ideas of how she used technology without using technology. She gave the example that her students were working on different Shakespeare plays and how they incorporated twitter into what they were doing. Tiffany created little blue birds and laminated them. As the students went through the plays, they had to comment on different scenes by writing on the blue twitter birds. I thought that was really really neat.
Tyler was the last one to talk. The only issue that I remember him talking about with using technology in the classroom is that not all students use the same devices and how it can create some issues with different apps and so on. I honestly can't remember what he all talked about. I failed to write down any notes from his talk. so I am going to leave it at that!
Cheers
Great overview, yes, I agree with the frustration. New teachers may assume, not us necessarily, that instituting more technology usage in the classroom is straight-forward or easy, au contraire it is fraught with difficulties. Parent and co-workers preconceived notions of lecture and question education, begin and introducing the students to technology, lacking technological support, etc. are all problems faced by educators. Adaptation is the name of the game for teachers. Gritting the teeth, squinting the eyes, and bearing through will eventually lead to a better educational environment for your students and you as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Jeremy
Amanda I really enjoyed the recap of the presentations in class. I was so intrigued by all of the things they were able to do with such a limit on technology and space. I think it would drive me crazy if I wasn't able to 'connect' in my classroom. I agree with you, I think we received a lot of great information from the presenters. I am also glad to read your paragraph about Tyler as I had to leave early and was unable to hear his portion.
ReplyDeleteThanks!