As you can see, there is an overwhelming amount of resources available to educators as we embark upon a new era in educational technology. With so many tools and resources available, some encouraging 21st Century learning while others seem to be more of a distraction. It becomes increasingly challenging to determine worthwhile resources, not to mention identifying ways to integrate these resources due to limitations in time, funding, hesitancy, and emphasis on improving student achievement. With that said, how will technology leaders integrate some of these resources effectively to not only overcome these barriers, but also pave the way towards improving student achievement, collaboration, and problem solving, in addition to a sincere motivation and enthusiasm for learning?
Share some ideas as to how you have integrated technology effectively in the classroom in the past, or how you plan to implement some of the resources you've seen throughout your research.
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The best way I have used technology in my classroom is through my ActivBoard. It is an awesome tool in which I can do various interactive lessons with my students. The reason I love it so much is that my students can be actively involved in the lessons. I can also use videos, links to the internet, games, and various other things in my lessons.
I have used technology in a large number of ways with my students. I have found another effective use for the technology available is to maintain parent contacts. I teach in a primary school, and keeping in contact with parents is vital. I sent a small questionnare home with my students at the beginning of the year to see what I was working with. I found that about 80% of the students' families in my class had internet access and checked e-mail regulary. I was able to create a "parent contacts" group in my Novell school e-mail. It has been a wonderful way to share information, and by saving the e-mails to a folder, all documentation of the contact is saved.
I have used technology in many ways as a student advisor. I am no longer in the classroom but I still use technology to maintain data collection and investigation into potential issues in our school via myspace and youtube. It makes it easier when a potential issue starts in school. Most issues begin on myspace and I can pull that information up and print it out for parents to see how the problem started.
It can also be used as an instructional tool if monitored properly. Most students are on myspace any way. Why not use it to post homework and blogs and different academic review information.
The best way that I have used technology in my class I would have to say was with the classroom websites. Students, parents, and substitutes could view the site to see what we are doing in class and also type comments on a blog if they had any questions.
At the secondary level, students may miss the last period of a class because of sports. Having the website eliminated the time lost with reteaching and use of paper materials. Students can view the assignment, click on helpful hints (a section I created to help students with an assignement) and send me a comment if they had additional concerns.
Students that had interact access at home could go home and do the work and still be on task for tomorrow's assignment
I can say that our district provides numerous training opportunities to use a variety of technology tools that are available in our classrooms. It is through these trainings that teachers get to explore the tool. It allows use to play with the tool to get familiar with it and hear how others are using it and the capabilities. We also can take time to observe other teachers who have been using tech tools in teaching and lessons. From these experiences, I take the knowledge and incorporate it into lessons and modify as needed. Through collaborating teachers can find the best practices and hear new ideas involving technology and student learning.
In my school technology comes and goes very quickly. About two years ago we bought two Smartboards and they had training on how to use them and several people including myself were extremely excited. Our school then moved its offices and in this move the smartboards were lost. This continually happens in our school. Recently each grade level was given a computer cart that was suppose to contain 18 laptops. When we opened it to use it for the first time we saw that there were only 10 laptops. When we asked what happened to them they said they were not sure. My district does a good job of getting technology, but a poor job of implementing it. I think that if you are going to spend money on technology you must be able to use it effectively.
In my two years of teaching so far, I have started to see what resources are the most useful and beneficial in the classroom. Because I haven't been given much technology to work with in the classroom, the one thing that I do find most useful when in the classroom is our laptop carts that are equipped with speakers, dvd players and lcd projectors. There are so many things you can do to begin to engage students in advanced lessons using technology by just having access to one of these carts. It is imperative to have one close by and we're still fighting to share them in my building. Teachers and students can use several resources as a whole class of which several are on your list of "Web 2.0 tools." When I get a cart, I typically use Microsoft Word, Power Point, United Streaming, Teacher Tube, etc. to engage the students at another level than the typical lesson. Just recently, I logged onto www.ballgame.org which allowed my students to watch a tutorial on how the ancient Mayans played a ball game called Pok-A-Tok. It showed them a typical game and how the Mayans played it. Without this technology, the students would have been left reading about it in the text only. Instead, they had a real visual!
I have used technology in my Kindergarten class in a variety of ways. I think that the best tool that I have used is the multimedia cart that was provided at all teachers in my district. The cart has a computer, projector system, ELMO and an Interwrite Pad. I love this cart because I am able to integrate technology into every lesson. The students are able to help participate in the lesson through the use of th Interwrite Pad. I use it to show examples, play games and most of all get the students excited about learning.
I use the multimedia cart throughout the day to integrate technology and enhance the lessons for my Kindergarten students. The cart consists of a computer, Elmo, document camera and Interwrite Pad. I use the Elmo/document camera to project student work, instruction on worksheets, and books onto the screen. I implement the use of the Interwrite Pad with online worksheets from Enchanted Learning, PowerPoint’s, United Streaming and the calendar on Starfall.com. We also like to travel the world with Google Earth! Through the use of the Interwrite Sims you can activate games, and teaching aids to enhance lessons. The students love using the Interwrite Pad along with the math Sims. My students had the experience of a video conference with middle school students reading holiday books and making a craft. Handhelds are also incorporated into our instruction, with wonderful results through the use of programs that match our reading and math series. Everyone that observes my class is always amazed at the comfort and skill level of my Kindergarten students with the use of all the technology. We all enjoy technology and it does make learning fun!
Reading these just frustrates me more. I only have one student computer in my classroom and am fighting 70 other teachers for time in the library media center. That said I do try to use what I have. I show teachertube video, research the web as a group for immediate answers and have used united streaming. I would love to be able to have my students have access for days at a time to computers to do the web quest I created or any of the ones out there. I do get one or two days in the library and have them work on interactive sites and create powerpoints on a specific research topic.
I have integrated technology into my classroom by using the projector, ELMO, and Interwrite Pad. My students also enjoy using handheld computers. I cannot imagine teaching without these tools. My kindergarten students seem to be more focused on my lessons when I utilize these tools. They are eager to share work they have completed with the use of the the ELMO and love taking turns using the Interwrite Pad. I am constantly amazed by all of the resources that I find online. My students enjoy using Starfall, PBS, Scholastic, and other interactive sites. I have also found that United Streaming and Enchanted Learning have excellent resources that I can share with my students.
I have used technology in my classroom by using NetOps. It is a program that allows me to monitor students computers since I am in a computer lab all day. The best part is that it is more than a monitoring system. I have used it send documents to every computer electronically, apply attention to everyone's screens so they have to pay attention to a lecture or another student, and to remote control someone's computer to show them how to do something without leaving my own desk. It has helped me manage my classroom more effectively while using technology.
The main feature of technology that I use in my classroom is the overhead projector! In order for my kids to use a computer I take them out into our pod and use the 16 computers that are available to us. Although, the only downfall to not having computers in the classroom for the students to use is that you have to share the pod with 7 other classrooms in the 3rd grade pod. As I have said before, I have not had the opportunity to incorporate the use of the wireless laptop computers that are available for any classroom to use or the other technology resources that we share within the building. Hopefully I will be able to start using those resources shortly.
I really like using Inspiration with the whole class to begin a new topic. As the children brainstorm ideas I type them into the graphic organizer on the large screen. Although the children cannot read they are all on task and so eager to get their answer put on the screen. The children also use Inspiration themselves in the computer lab. This is done with quite a bit of guidance, but some children really excel. We love Inspiration!
I just completed a week long assignment with my class using a webquest. Since I made a webquest for my last EDT course I thought it natural to use it with my actual students. Overall, I would say it was a success. The only trouble is tracking the kids to see which ones were working and which were fooling around. I know some new technology has recently been invented to counteract that problem but I don't see my district buying it anytime soon.
I am a bit behind my colleagues in this department. Currently I use an on-line grade book to organize grades and to communicate with parents. Also, I love to use united streaming and our school accounts that allow us to save (extra memory) videos, etc. I certainly wish we had access to podcasting, collaborative discussions, and educational gaming. Funding and training are our two biggest obstacles.
With out recent grant, our former principal picked up 6 PocketPC carts from Dell. These are an excellent alternative to the ancient desktops that are completely useless anyway. The kids are encouraged to collaborate on their work with the help of "beaming", or sending their work to each other wirelessly. While this can sometimes be considered to be high tech note passing, the overall useage has been positive.
Due to limited resources the best way I use technology in my room is to keep my grades posted online. I have an overhead projector and use PPT on a frequent basis but that really isn't technology any more. I due have a neat hookup for my TI-83 calculator that allows me to do many cool things with it in the class room.
Reading over the posts one can see the inconsistency of technology use and mainly due to lack of equipment. This is an issue and schools need to recognize this and provide not only the tech tool, but training and support. For schools to meet tech standards and 21st Century Skills, technology has to play a key role in the learning environment. I currently use the projector with internet cababilities in correlation with the Elmo. I have an Inter write board and I have been through the training and the support is there to use it in lessons; however, I have used it little. This is due to not being comfortable with the features. Teachers need to have time to play and explore the tech tools. A great time to do this is during those inservice days, not after a teaching day. If teachers can operate tech eqiupment confidently then more learning will take place and less time wasted. You guys who are sharing computers and who are limited, I feel for you. Schools need to realize that staff and students suffer in competing in the educational world. I am not sure where all of the answers are, but we need to grasp opportunities to be somewhat prepared for wants ahead. Technology is and will be playing a BIG part in these students' lives.
I'm with you Eric. What do we need to do to make people realize how important technology is? We are in desperate need of resources!
I like what you said about how we are "competing in the education world". Students who are competing to get jobs and go to colleges are falling behind if they don't have computer skills. Teachers at the same time are competing to get jobs where there are more resources and technology available. I know I am currently looking for a new job, and my biggest concern is going to a school that will have more available. Right now I feel as though we are doing these students an injustice!
After doing the research and the needs based assessment in my school... I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to find grants and technology for my classroom.
One of the biggest hold ups of intergrating technology in our district is how old our plan is. Beth Schwartz dug up the plan and our available resources in our school. After looking over the list we came to the conclusion that it wasn't accurate at all. How can we know what we need when we don't even know what we have?
I have recently been playing around with PowerPoint for the classroom. I always used to use unitedstreaming.com because our district pays for it. It's awesome with all the movies and clips you can get for the kids! Now, I have started adding links in the PowerPoints to the video clips to add extra reinforcement to the topics we're talking about in class. It's awesome!
On Tuesday I got the opportunity to use the Airliner Wireless Slate. It was awesome. One of our district technology coaches was kind enough to come to my classroom and show me how to use the Airliner. She even gave me an opportunity to play around with it. I think it will be a great tool to use in the classroom. I just hope it won't take forever to get one, but we all know how that works.
This was very exciting!
After participating in the conversations the last few weeks and working on my initiative, I believe the two biggest problems are lack of professional development and lack of funds. There are teachers on my staff that basically know how to retrieve their email and this is it. They don't even know how to clean out their mailboxes when they become full. The district needs to invest more of our in-service days to technology and less on meaningless workshops.
I am a fifth grade teacher and I use technology in my classroom daily. The internet is used to take attendance, input grades into an electronic gradebook, as well as browse the web for lesson plans. Students frequently use laptops to type papers, research information, and explore educational sites. I currently have an overhead and would like to upgrade to an document camera.
Class discussions are much more lively after viewing a YouTube or TeacherTube video compared to reading a case study. Students use the internet for presentations and projects.
The best technology that I'm using in the classroom right now is wikispaces. The reason: easily accessible storage space for students. We don't have to rely on our building server to keep information and we're not "tied" to the building to do work. All of my students can work on things from home or the library or the classroom and post information that they need to get later.
I use technology to keep in contact with parents and staff. I use technology to reinforce skills in several content areas. For example, I have students play math games or grammar games. These games keep students interested and don't really take too much time out of the school day. I am constantly using the presenter to instruct students on vocabulary, math skills, grammar, etc. through powerpoint presentations. Also, I found UnitedStreaming to be my new best friend. It's great to deliver science instruction and relates the skills to the real world.
I'm not a teacher but I do work at an educational institution as the head of new media. A large part of what I do is help teachers find the right technology to solve their problem. For instance, many people come to me wanting a web site, when in fact setting up an organization on BlackBoard would be a cleaner, easier solution to their issue of wanting to communicate with a specific group of students. The point of this posting is that I think way too often people over engineer the solution and end up with something that's hard to use or maintain. I think we need to be selective about which technologies we choose to use and secondly, we need to learn them so well that their use is nearly effortless.
I almost feel lost when I don't have access to technology, because I use it without realizing it is being used. I have adapted my teaching to being able to incorporate technology. I use my computer not only to check email, 99% of memos come to us electronicly, but for my lesson objectives. I also use a camera document and projector with my lap top connected also to the projector. I have an overhead, but rarely need it. Even the majority of sub's that are in my room know how to use the camera doc now. Attendance and my gradbook is also computer based, but I do remember doing them by hand. yuck!
In my Drivers education class room we use technology almost on a daily basis. It is very rare that we are not using some type of technology daily. We use power point presentations and videos to show situations and give information. We also use driving simulators which interact with a computer and records a score for each student who participates. They are graded on approximatley 10 categories.
We are looking at a computer based curriculum that would further our use of technology
Since we currently lack a keyboarding program in 5th grade, I have my students type documents as much as I can to give them practice. I know middle school and beyond are going to require students to be familiar with the keyboard. My plan is incorporating Type to Learn program into the curriculum. Until my school incorporates a program like this at the 5th grade level, I am going to continue to give my students as much experience with the keyboard as possible.
This week while in a meeting I heard a co-worker use the term Web 2.0. Albeit, it was an IT guy who used the term but it does mark the first time I've heard it used at my school. Change comes slowly here, and nothing has been harder for our administration to accept than the idea of social networking/Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, wiki's and the like. The reason is - they feel an instense need to control the message and these technologies allow people to speak their minds freely and that really scares our administrators. The fact is, they lost the battle over controlling the message a long time ago, now they just need to understand that freedom of speech is nothing to be afraid of.
Using technology effectively in my classroom has be like going up and down several cold and frustrating mountains. I have learned so much about the technology in my building this past year alone. I very much enjoy communicating with parents in my classroom via email. It seems so much easier to me to be able to sit down and type out a message to a parent, in most cases, then waiting for a convenient time to call. I have even begun electronically sending my monthly newsletter to parents instead of putting in my classes "Tuesday" folder. I still send some students home that I know do not have internet at home. I have found this way of communication to be so much more effective the sending a letter or making a phone call to the parent at work when they can't focus on the conversation or I have one of my children yelling in the background.
SmartBoard Technologies has come out with a kind of screen babysitter that allows you to see every screen in your room. I have only seen demonstrations of it, but my school is getting a copy of it this coming year and when I couple it with the SmartBoard itself, I will be able to project an image of what ALL of my students are doing on their computers and simply touch the screen that's off task to disable it! The best part? Knowing that all of the students can see that I'm able to watch them work online from anywhere in the room!
Even though, I could be considered a "techy" in the classroom, I can understand the hesitation some teachers have. It almost seems like these communication sites are just a virtual playground for kids to gossip and chit chat all for the purpose of "collaboration". My solution is using monitored and guided projects where all students are working towards a common goal. For example, Global School Net (http://www.globalschoolnet.org/) has a variety of online projects for different subjects and age groups. Or another great communitech project is the 2008 National CyberConvention (http://surfaquarium.com/NCC/about.htm). This September, my students and I are taking advantage of the election year and researching, debating and voting with other classrooms who have also registered with the project. It is a guided process filled with lesson plans and timeline. This would make teachers, as it did for me, feel like we are actually going to produce something through virtual chit chat. Good Luck!
My favorite use of technology this past year was having my middle school students using digital cameras and videos to record some of their “live-action” science projects. (Projects were to build balloon-powered cars and Rube Goldberg devices.) The students converted the digital pictures into posters using http://photobucket.com/ and other programs to produce very cool graphic effects and labels for all the parts of their projects. Students got a big kick out of watching the balloon car race replay and "photo finishes."
We used the lcd display to “simulcast” the Rube Goldberg machines onto the whiteboard so that students everywhere in the room could see live close-ups of how the devices worked. This technology enhanced the educational value of the projects and made them more exciting and memorable for the students.
I actually live to implement Technology in the classroom setting : ) This past school year, I successfully managed a Television studio at my former school Middletown High School. I taught my students how to use I-Movie 08' to create everything from music videos, documentaries on NCLB & DSTPs to educational infomercials. We used Canon XL1s, a video mixer, 12 & 16 track audio mixers, Dell desktops & laptops throughout the year. My Broadcast Journalism students used Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)and GarageBand to create and post pod-casts. They learned the different types of interview and interview techniques by watching video-broadcasts from MSNBC's "Meet the Press" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/), "Bill Moyers Journal" (http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/archives/index.html). I also used Eschool pLus to manage my students, grades, discipline and attendance issues and to IM colleagues.
As a special ed teacher with limited time with my students, I have found it difficult to incorporate effective technology in the classroom. Some uses of technology that have benefited my students have been United Streaming, KidsZone-Create A Graph, Microsoft's Photo Story and various educational simulations such as cash out and Brain Pop. My special ed. students need instruction that is interactive and engaging. Incorporating technology into the curriculum provides students with the stimulation they need to stay focused and productive. My only concern however, is how to fit technology is when I'm given such a limited amount of time incorporating IEP goals/grade level curriculum/ability level curriculum.
I feel that I am gaining more and more skills in the area of technology but am still so far behind. One technology that I use most often is United Streaming. I love that I can use short video clips to give my visual learners an opportunity to really understand the curriculum. Luckily, I have had the use of my student teacher's access, since my district technology team refused to let my principal buy it for our school. I recently have been introduced to photostory and teacher tube which are both great resources. Photostory is a free download and very user friendly. I feel my fourth graders would be able to do create their own photostories for biographies, especially in my explorer's unit.
I teach Driver Education and I do a mini unit on driving under the influence with my student. As part of their final assessment I have the students create a short commercial influencing teens to not drink and drive. I have my students use a digital camera with video capability to shot the video. I then have them use Windows Movie Maker and and or Photo Story to edit and enhance their final product. They can come up with some very interesting ideas fro commercials.
One of the best sites to use is united streaming video. This site allows students to view a video and take a teacher generated quiz. The quizzes are graded and sent via email to the teacher.
The best way that I have utilized technology is through the use of the Internet. As a teacher of French, I love the fact that my students can research things that interest them in French from France such as music and TV. Although my classroom still only has a chalkboard and a TV with a DVD player, our library has 30 computers that the students can use to conduct research. Often students come back and tell me that they have added French songs and videos to their MySpace and Facebook pages.
As a math teacher, it is crucial to get the students interested in the subject matter. In order to do this, I use the TI-Navigator system and TI-Nspire calculators.
There are sometimes limited resources when it comes to technology and education. I think the best way to overcome the barrier of technology is to show how technology can be used with our current instruction. I do feel that it is better not to completely move away from the current process, but to integrate technology into the current process. Once our students and staff understand that technology can in fact improve our current learning experience, I think they will be more open to using technology. You however will run into the issue of limited resources and what you will do for technical support. Both of those things have to be put into consideration when determing to integrate technology. I can not speak fully on what will go on in the classroom because I am not in a classroom. But I do know from experience that you do not want to integrate something and not have the proper resources to back it up.
Wow, I am feeling really left behind here. I have not really used any super exciting forms of technology in my classroom as of yet. I did have my students do a video project outside of class and post their videos to youtube for viewing. I have just been getting used to that. The students used their phones, cameras and computers to prep for the video and post them. I was amazed at the editing and film like quality of most. I hope to use blogging more in the future as part of my class and would love to use some of the resources viewed here. The most difficult hurddle I find to overcome is the filters on our computer system, which unfortunately will not allow us to access some of these sites and programs.
What I have learned the most from this course is that technology is much more expensive than I thought and that the budget that most schools set aside for technology doesn't really allow for up-to-date technology to be purchased. Therefore you really need someone with lots of initiative and creativity to be in charge of technology in a school.
It is real easy to complain and point out where problems can be found, but to actually fix those problems and make having reliable, up-to-date technology a part of a a school is extremely difficult.
Glenn,
You are absolutely correct. Technology seems to be a more expensive task that some people are not aware of. The budgets set aside for most schools is not sufficent enough to handle the new technology as well and keep it up to date and working properly. I do believe that is how some schools initiate a new technology alternative, but will seize all usage due to insufficient funds. It's one thing to initiate something, but it's different when you have to have the funds to keep it up. Most schools do not have the abundance of funds to keep up with the ever changing technology. However, it is a good effort that is made on school officals who do try to incorporate something new. I would also assume that for those schools that do not have the budget to keep up the maintenance either do fundraisers alot or simply discontinue the item after a certain period of time. It seems to be very hard to keep up the maintenance on new technology in schools.
One of the biggest problems with implementing technology into the classroom stems from lack of proper training teachers need to keep up with the disconnect divide. The disconnect divide is different from the digital divide. There used to be simply the digital divide; those who had access/internet technology at home and work or school and those that did not. The disconnect divide is a new trend that needs to be addressed presently. This divide is when the students know more then the teacher as far as technology is concerned. The students feel savvier and thus shut the teacher out and feel disconnected from the class. Teachers need to be equipped with tools that support 21st century learning skills to excite the new wave of learners, to effectively grab the attention and promote using technology collectively. Especially in the diversified classroom of today where differentiated learning and project based learning are expected. When the teachers are comfortable with using new technologies in the classroom they will be reconnect to the students and bridge the gap needed to enable students to be equipped with the tools needed to compete in the job market of tomorrow.
I do believe that we need to get the more experience educators more up to speed when it comes to changing technology. I know of plenty of teachers out there who do not want to use technology because the non-technology was works just fine. Those are the teachers who will keep the technology in your school from being at it highest potential. You have to get everyone in the idea that newer technology and using technology in the classroom is the way of the future. And of course, there are so many students in the classroom who know more about the internet,myspace, facebook, and youtube than an teacher can imagaine. The reason for this is now this generations has grown up on technology, that is all that they know. And you are exactly right, technology and the many ways it can be used is what grabs the attention of this technological generation, but gap between the two needs to be address sooner than later.
I have tried to use technology in many ways in my classroom. One of the best technology tools that I have found in the classroom is www.teachertube.com. Many of my students are visual learners and become enthralled by online videos. However, because YouTube is blocked on our school's server I have struggled with finding appropriate videos that I can actually view in the classroom! However, TeacherTube has been a huge help! I can use it in the classroom without it being blocked by the school's filters. The videos on the program cover many important subjects. Another successful tool I have used is PowerPoint. My students aren't very advanced when it comes to technology, however, they love to use PowerPoint to make projects. Also, whenever I present material using PowerPoint, the students love it! I know these aren't examples of very advanced uses of technology but they are the ones that have seemed to work the best in my classroom so far.
I would love to incorporate more technology tools in my classroom but I often become so overwhelmed with the vast amount of resources that I am not sure which are best for use in my classrom!
I have tried to use technology in many ways in my classroom. One of the best technology tools that I have found in the classroom is www.teachertube.com. Many of my students are visual learners and become enthralled by online videos. However, because YouTube is blocked on our school's server I have struggled with finding appropriate videos that I can actually view in the classroom! However, TeacherTube has been a huge help! I can use it in the classroom without it being blocked by the school's filters. The videos on the program cover many important subjects. Another successful tool I have used is PowerPoint. My students aren't very advanced when it comes to technology, however, they love to use PowerPoint to make projects. Also, whenever I present material using PowerPoint, the students love it! I know these aren't examples of very advanced uses of technology but they are the ones that have seemed to work the best in my classroom so far.
I would love to incorporate more technology tools in my classroom but I often become so overwhelmed with the vast amount of resources that I am not sure which are best for use in my classrom!
I have tried to use technology in many ways in my classroom. One of the best technology tools that I have found in the classroom is www.teachertube.com. Many of my students are visual learners and become enthralled by online videos. However, because YouTube is blocked on our school's server I have struggled with finding appropriate videos that I can actually view in the classroom! However, TeacherTube has been a huge help! I can use it in the classroom without it being blocked by the school's filters. The videos on the program cover many important subjects. Another successful tool I have used is PowerPoint. My students aren't very advanced when it comes to technology, however, they love to use PowerPoint to make projects. Also, whenever I present material using PowerPoint, the students love it! I know these aren't examples of very advanced uses of technology but they are the ones that have seemed to work the best in my classroom so far.
I would love to incorporate more technology tools in my classroom but I often become so overwhelmed with the vast amount of resources that I am not sure which are best for use in my classrom!
I have started to use more elements of Web 2.0 in my classroom. I have been trying to implement technology into my lessons when it would help the students better learn the material. Most of the time it has been successful. However, the biggest roadblock I have faced was that the students don't know the basics of the computer and it causes tie-ups in the classroom.
However, many of my students have chosen to use the Home Access Center to keep track of their grades, which is nice to see because it shows that students are especially interested in technology when they can make a personal connection to it.
I like to use online interactives for the students to use in my class. I would set aside a certain collection of resources to "guide" them to, and then the students would explore each resource while enabling inquiry to take the forefront to find other resources.
ThinkFinity is a great resource, as is TrackStar and BrainPOP. Students seem to love it and I know for a fact that it has been one of their favorite things to do. I like changing the aspect of education from being teacher-led to being a collaborative event.
I use technology in various ways in my classroom. I use my presenter to share technology with my students whether it be a video clip or powerpoint on reading strategies.
Most recently I have had the opportunity to incorporate technology using a SMART Board which makes the activities interactive and highly motivating for my students. I love how engaging some of the new technology is even for the younger students!
I never thought that first graders would need to know so much about technology. I try to keep myself up to date on the latest trends so that my students are not left behind in the 21st Century!
As a Pre-K teacher, it is sometimes hard to find ways to appropriately integrate technology but I have found that my students love to use technology and are very engaged whenever they are able to. I often use the presenter in the classroom to share powerpoint presentations or United Streaming videos that enhance student learning. I also use interactive websites during center time to have my students practice basic skills such as letter recognition and counting. I also try to take my students to the computer lab at least once per week. While there we often play educational online games, such as the ones found at PBSKids.org and starfall.com. Students also complete Kidspiration activities involving rhyming words, patterning, and counting. Most recently, students have learned how to save their Kidspiration work and turn in to my drop box.
I think one of the best ways of using technology in class is using tablet PCs. By having tablet PC we can improve our classroom management, our teaching style and almost everything in class. Using Tablet PC requires us to have preparation in class which will improve learning. We also can save our work and go over it and then improve what we can do day by day. It also allows us to show the students what we did the day before and review the topic. One more thing, it lets us do is to use computer applications which brings the technology ,that we can use effectively, in class. I have heard a 40 year old teacher saying using Tablet PC was a revolution in her teaching career.
I have tired to integrate technology into my classroom in many ways. The way I integrate it most often is through use of the Smartboard. It is an amazing tool which allows me to show educational videos, websites that match my lesson, and get the students involved in their own learning. It is amazing how much more my students pay attention when I turn it on! We are lucky enough to have a computer lab that just opened, so even though I only have four student computers, I am able to take my students to the lab where they all have access. There we type our writing assignments, create power points or visit websites.
I use technology in a variety of ways in the classroom. Many of the lessons I teach are computer based. Students Voicethreads and evaluate their peer assignments, they use Wikispaces to record project information, create study guides in Powerpoints jeopardy template and study via "game day", and more. I love using technology in the classroom. It provides new and exciting lesson ideas and activities that keep students engaged.
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