I have to truly say, I have already learned a wealth of info. in this 710 course. I'm used to our technology scholl P.D.'s being about how to attach a file to an e-mail, or how to use powerpoint. My school, like most now, are pushing for more technology use in schools. But, our school system, also like many, has a lot of teachers that have been there for 20-40 years (yes, 40!, and are still learning about e-mail capabilities. Now I am not throwing stones (I had trouble extracting my podcast for a few hours!), but this goes way beyond e-mail!
Now what to do with all of this. I work in a pre-k through 2 school, so I can't expect EXTENSIVE tech. use from my students. But again, if I can cooperate w/ the technology teacher at my school (integration, everyone likes that!), then we can teach the kids. And kids will learn what you teach them. There are also, however, some very economically challenged families in my town, and many cannot afford a computer, or the use of internet.
But, here's some things I could do.
1. Post pics on Flickr for parents and students- We take a lot of pics in class, and kids love to see themselves online, or in print. They could then show their families/friends what they did in class. That would also serve as a reminder to what they did, and may add to retention.
2. Keep an updated blog for parents- All teachers in our school have a website. However, it is very complicated to go in and update, and not a easily navigated program. Most of our teachers hate it! A blog, however, would be simpler, faster, and more current. Easier for me to post and update, and easier for parents/students to access.
3. Google docs- Spreadsheet program can be used to record fitness scores for President's Challenge and report to parents. Also good for gathering analyzing data for annual Professional Growth commitments. No more emptying wallet for Excel! :-)
4. Web 2.0- used as a resource for almost anything I want! I'm sure I will use this a lot instead of googling, and searching through countless websites.
To conclude, the use of all this tech. know-how I have gained thus far will be put to good use. I have some new outlooks and ideas that I will be sharing with teachers/administration in my district in the future. My .02.... thanks for reading! :-)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think technology is a great avenue to promote education among students, but I think you make a valid point about how important it is to remember that some students differ economically.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some of the older teachers are stuck in their ways. I am lucky enough to work with a fairly young staff and the other PE teacher at my school is young too. We are willing to try new things and our principal is all about technology and having everyone integrate it into their classrooms. The one issue we have is that we are always the last ones to get the new equipment. It has gotten easier now that we have a laptop and a projector, but if we want our students to blog we may need more computers in the gym which I am sure will be an issue. I totally agree with you that blogging is much easier to use than updating a website. I would just like to set up a plain PE website and make my changes and updates on a blog since it takes less time and is easy to follow!
ReplyDelete