Educational instruction has changed dramatically over the years. Please view the video below:
I am continually amazed about the
possibilities of incorporating technologies into today’s classroom
instruction. I have seven years of
experience in the public school setting.
However, I have been at home with my children for the past six
years. Kindergarten has always been my
favorite grade to teach. Needless to say
(missing 6 years of technology updates) I was blown away when I entered my sons
Kindergarten classroom. The teacher had
the use of Interactive Whiteboards and used her I-phone to upload a matching
application. The students had a blast
using the interactive board to play the game.
I think they were having so much fun, they didn’t realize they were
learning. In the article, Interactive Whiteboards in
the Classroom, it is discussed how the Interactive Whiteboards (as well
as other brand names: SMART Board, ActivBoard, eBeam, Mimio and Webster) are
changing the way the classroom functions today.
Thing that were done on a traditional Whiteboard, flip chart or
projector and now done with this new technology. Some examples of how the Whiteboard may be
used in today’s classroom include:
- saving lessons to present to
students who are absent or need to revisit at a later date
- teach editing skills using
editing marks
- teach whole group computer or
keyboarding skills
- use highlighter tools to
highlight nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
- teach students how to
navigate the Internet
- illustrate and write a book
as a class. Use the record feature
to narrate the text
- teaching steps to a math
problem
- electronic word wall
The article gives many links for teachers
including; Interactive Sites to use with the Whiteboard, and available software
to download and use with the Interactive Whiteboard. (Interactive Whiteboards
In The Classroom, 2010)
For older students, the possibilities
expand even further.
As stated the
article,
How to
Integrate Technology into Classroom Instruction, the author lists many
ideas to incorporate technologies in the classroom.
One idea mentioned was to “
Create a Class
Website”.
This would allow students to
check for missing assignments and see what it planned for upcoming lessons.
Other ideas included in this article were: “Create online assignments, create a
discussion forum, and Hold periodic chat sessions”.
My daughter’s class (2
nd grade) does not have a Web Page but they do have a
Class
Blog.
I love it!!
It allows you to see what is coming up in the
classroom.
The teacher provides links to
technologies being used in the classroom.
She also uploads class photos of experiments and happening during the
day for parents to be able to comment on. It has opened up a whole new world of
communication between us and our daughter.
We can review new information on the blog and instantly have lots of new
topics of discussion.
It gives lots of
great new insight instead of, “how was your day?” The blog includes other
important information as well such as; peek of the week, monthly calendar
including upcoming events, daily schedule, teacher contact information, etc.
(Braniac, 1999-2012)
Today’s students have so much knowledge
at their fingertips. What was once facts
and information passed down from teacher to students is now taught in so many
different ways. This way of teaching keeps students involved and much more
engaged than before. It is also
preparing them to be ready to enter today’s technological world (and the
advances to come in the future). What we
adults have to learn to incorporate into our world as it becomes necessary, is
so natural for our children today.
They
are growing up having so much technology at the fingertips that it is like
second nature to them. Today’s students not only have a
computer lab to visit
(
portable laptop labs), multiple computers in the classroom and now
tablet
computers available in the classroom.
Teachers are using iPhones, iTouch, kindles, nooks, and iPads in the
classroom.
The article, “
Kathy Schrock’s Guide to
Everything”, is filled with information on using iPads in the
classroom.
The author gives many
tutorials from “100 Tips and Tricks, How to put a video in Keynote, using the
iPad for special education, and even how to manage a classroom full of iPads”
just to name a few.
She also lists a
wealth of links of apps to assist teachers and students in the classroom. She
mentions the possibilities of “digital field trip reports, digital science
experiments and even using the
iPad for oral fluency”.
Technology is here to help students succeed
in so many ways.
In helping teachers
stay organized with today’s technologies in turn is of great benefit to the
students.
I am enjoying becoming more
comfortable with today’s technologies and I am excited about using them in the
classroom. (Schrock, 2011)
Here is a link to the apple website which shows the advantages of the iPad in the classroom:
http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/
Check out the following presentation through slideshare for a quick summary of where instructional technology is headed:
Works Cited
Braniac. (1999-2012). How to Integrate Technology into Classroom
Instruction. Demand Media, Inc.
