One of our assignments in our Tech Ed class was to assess the technology available to us and our students at our placement. We were required to do some research and then we posted our findings to a collaborative survey, viewed the results, and had a class discussion.
This was probably one of the easiest assignments I have ever had in bad way. There just was not much to research. My school has no technology specialist and limited technology. We do have computers and projectors in the classroom, but the internet is difficult to access outside of the computer lab ( at least in my classroom). Additionally, we still have good ole chalkboards!
What I found during the research process was not surprising to me as I experience this every day. What was surprising, though, was seeing the results from the rest of the placements. Many schools had smart boards and tablets. Of course, I expected there to be some differences between schools, but the differences were astounding. My school was clearly the least equipped in terms of technology. The frustrating part was hearing how some schools were planning on ordering more tablets while my school cannot even afford whiteboards. The discrepancy in available technology across schools is staggering and somewhat shameful.
Though it is frustrating to see other schools have an abundance of resources that my students do not have access to, I think there is a silver lining to be found. While it is true that I cannot access some of the really cool resources that we talk about in class, I am forced to be creative. The situation challenges me to find ways to make learning fun without these tech devices. I definitely spend a lot of time pondering how to do this, but, in the end, I believe it makes me more thorough and results in more well thought-out lesson plans. Indeed, it certainly forces me to be prepared! There is nothing worse than coming to school with the plan to show a movie and the internet is down.When this happens i is just me, the chalkboard, and twenty mischievous eyes waiting to see what I will do.
I do not need to tell anyone that technology has its perks. It can be a great resource and an aid to learning - but so can creativity. It can be a powerful experience for students to to create something with just an idea and classroom items. I hope my school will eventually have the best of both worlds, but in the meantime we accept the challenge!
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteThis blog post is inspiring. Your lack of technological resources (and probably more), although sad, can be a learning experience. In my experience of teaching, either through the many friends who teacher (Brett!) or my mentor teacher right now, I have learned that teachers have to work on the fly. If a copier is down, or there is no wi-fi for a DAY, teachers need to make do. I think you'll have the amazing experiences of making do with what you don't have. It does sound fluffy, but you preview making a positive through negatives. Continue to do that!
Kim, I'm glad that even though TCEC does not have a lot of technological resources, you are still trying to make the best of your situation! I think we tend to see technology as such a great asset, that we sometimes forget there was a time before technology was so prevalent and teachers had to come up with fun ideas in other ways. Even though we have been learning about all the great things technology can do for us in the classroom, I think it is important to remember how to be creative on your own and come up with ideas that do not use technology, whether the school has access to technology or not. If teachers in technology advanced schools relied on technology for their lessons everyday, what would happen when the wi-fi is down for the day? I wonder if they would be able to come up with a new idea on the spot.
ReplyDeleteHuron has laptop carts and my mentor teacher uses these very often, but I am still struggling with deciding whether this is something I will want to do in my future classroom. Do you think it's possible for teachers to have too much technology at their disposal?
April,
DeleteTo answer your question, I most certainly think it is possible for teachers to have too much technology at their disposal- and students too.I am a firm believer that technology can be used to enhance learning, but I also worry that both students and teachers could become cognitively lazy. My greatest fear is similar to the situation you describe - that I will become so dependent on technology that in its absence I will be rendered an ineffective teacher. I never want this to be the case and I do not want to let it get to the point where I let technology do all the cognitive work for me and my students. Teachers need to strive to make learning an active process and if technology can enhance this - great!, but if it becomes a substitute then it is to the detriment of students' learning.
Hi Kim!
ReplyDeleteWhat you've posted here is completely valid. I agree that, although you do not have the tech some of our schools have, and the technology that you do have can be very unreliable, that this is not necessarily a very bad thing. You do a great job of finding the positive in what could definitely be viewed as a predominantly negative situation! Creativity can definitely become more necessary without technology, both on your part and on the part of your students.
That being said, all of the newer technology is not truly necessary. Yes, it can enhance learning and make teachers' jobs easier, but students with a creative, thoughtful teacher can learn just as much, whether they have SmartBoards or a steady internet source or not. Personally, I don't even like SmartBoards that much...it's currently taking me more time to figure out how to use the thing than I feel like I spend actually using it, and it tends to decide not to work a decent amount of time. Maybe it's because I grew up with chalkboards and the occasional whiteboard that I still really like using these...Big imaginations and creativity are often teachers' greatest resources, I find.
Thanks for your post, and happy daylight savings time!
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that you are frustrated with the lack of technology that you have in your placement, but it sounds like you are making the most of it. I have seen teachers who use a lot of tech in their classroom, but the students do not learn much. It is not about the amount of tech you use, but how good of a teacher you are. There are many different ways to teach and learn and I think showing your students these ways will make them become better students. Hang in there and you are going to be a great teacher