In my first post I explained how I had viewed technology in the classroom much like I viewed meatloaf as a kid. The “ew” factor was so strong I was actually dreading taking a course in technology. I came into the class as though I were a nun being forced to go into a casino. “I don’t care what they throw at me, I will not succumb to the temptations of technology!”
I’m literally laughing as I type this. I cannot even describe how often I’ve been using the apps that I’ve picked up in this class and how many teacher friends I’ve told about the different sites. My husband has been joking around lately about me “needing more apps like I need a hole in my head”! I have already collected a litany of tools that I’ll be using for the upcoming school year, and I’m the most excited to share all of my “cool tool” knowledge with my mentor teacher. So for someone who had a staunch “no tech at all policy” to someone who is legitimately excited to go back to school just so I can see how my students like using the different programs and sites, I would say my mentality’s changed quite a bit.
My greatest challenge will still be the focus and appropriate use issue. No matter what we do as teachers, we are still going to have students who make the wrong choices and use their resources incorrectly. I do feel a little silly thinking that phones and iPads were the bane of my existence when I was one of those students who used pencils as darts to throw at the ceiling tiles. Obviously, it doesn’t really matter what students have, there will always be something used inappropriately. The best thing that a teacher can do is be integrally involved in their classroom activities, create policies and procedures that cover as much as possible, and ultimately create a rapport with their students and a classroom atmosphere that encourages students to act in the appropriate way no matter what they may be doing.
As of next year, I already have plans to use much of what I’ve learned in this class. I have already made Symbaloo my homepage on my laptop. I am absolutely in love with the Seesaw app and have written a lesson plan for my first few weeks of class specifically so I can get my students to use it.
With all the new opportunities and ways of looking at lesson planning with my new tool belt, I am very thankful to have taken this class, and even more excited to teach for my first year than I could have imagined!
In my first post I explained how I had viewed technology in the classroom much like I viewed meatloaf as a kid. The “ew” factor was so strong I was actually dreading taking a course in technology. I came into the class as though I were a nun being forced to go into a casino. “I don’t care what they throw at me, I will not succumb to the temptations of technology!”
I’m literally laughing as I type this. I cannot even describe how often I’ve been using the apps that I’ve picked up in this class and how many teacher friends I’ve told about the different sites. My husband has been joking around lately about me “needing more apps like I need a hole in my head”! I have already collected a litany of tools that I’ll be using for the upcoming school year, and I’m the most excited to share all of my “cool tool” knowledge with my mentor teacher. So for someone who had a staunch “no tech at all policy” to someone who is legitimately excited to go back to school just so I can see how my students like using the different programs and sites, I would say my mentality’s changed quite a bit.
My greatest challenge will still be the focus and appropriate use issue. No matter what we do as teachers, we are still going to have students who make the wrong choices and use their resources incorrectly. I do feel a little silly thinking that phones and iPads were the bane of my existence when I was one of those students who used pencils as darts to throw at the ceiling tiles. Obviously, it doesn’t really matter what students have, there will always be something used inappropriately. The best thing that a teacher can do is be integrally involved in their classroom activities, create policies and procedures that cover as much as possible, and ultimately create a rapport with their students and a classroom atmosphere that encourages students to act in the appropriate way no matter what they may be doing.
As of next year, I already have plans to use much of what I’ve learned in this class. I have already made Symbaloo my homepage on my laptop. I am absolutely in love with the Seesaw app and have written a lesson plan for my first few weeks of class specifically so I can get my students to use it.
With all the new opportunities and ways of looking at lesson planning with my new tool belt, I am very thankful to have taken this class, and even more excited to teach for my first year than I could have imagined!