Friday, March 1, 2013
Professional development is largely personal. What can you do for free to enhance your technological skills?
As a pre-service teacher seeking a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, I am halfway through my program. However, I have room for one class in my program of my own choosing (as long as it relates to teaching small children). As such, I have thought of taking an additional technology class before I graduate to improve my skills. While taking a class is not free, it is something that I can incorporate into my educational plan before I even begin teaching.
In addition, when I am seeking employment, I intend to ask any potential employers what technologies are currently in use in their schools. If I am hired, I plan to search for opportunities to use the technology on my own before the school year begins. This may include contacting friends and acquaintances who are teachers for help. I can also research the tools online and study free tutorials.
I could also join online teacher groups/community web sites for information on what is new and upcoming in the world of technology.
Chapter Five - Redefining Student and Teacher Roles
Summary
In this chapter the author describes how the introduction of technology into the classroom has changed the roles of students and teachers. Students at all levels (as young as first graders) initiated peer tutoring with their classmates. Instead of waiting for the teacher to assist with technology related problems, the students sought help from their peers. Students also engaged in collaboration and schools and teachers took advantage of the technological savvy of their students. One school hired high school students to conduct computer based training. While some teachers initially felt uncomfortable with peer tutoring, collaboration and role reversals, most described the benefits of these practices later in the study. One of the benefits included enabling children who may not be as academically successful as their peers to find an important niche in helping others utilize technology.
Reflection
I think that the behavior observed by the teachers in this study closely parallels what happens in the adult world when a new technology is implemented in the workplace. Coworkers typically reach out to others in their area or department before asking the IT Department or a manager for assistance. Employees who work together on projects are often required to collaborate and present their findings to others. In addition, employees who may struggle with daily job responsibilities can learn technologies so well that they are able to train other employees and help with troubleshooting. These may not be their primary job functions, but by engaging in this wise practice, these technologically savvy employees make themselves indispensable to the group- a smart strategy for maintaining job security in this unstable economy.
Summary
In this chapter the author describes how the introduction of technology into the classroom has changed the roles of students and teachers. Students at all levels (as young as first graders) initiated peer tutoring with their classmates. Instead of waiting for the teacher to assist with technology related problems, the students sought help from their peers. Students also engaged in collaboration and schools and teachers took advantage of the technological savvy of their students. One school hired high school students to conduct computer based training. While some teachers initially felt uncomfortable with peer tutoring, collaboration and role reversals, most described the benefits of these practices later in the study. One of the benefits included enabling children who may not be as academically successful as their peers to find an important niche in helping others utilize technology.
Reflection
I think that the behavior observed by the teachers in this study closely parallels what happens in the adult world when a new technology is implemented in the workplace. Coworkers typically reach out to others in their area or department before asking the IT Department or a manager for assistance. Employees who work together on projects are often required to collaborate and present their findings to others. In addition, employees who may struggle with daily job responsibilities can learn technologies so well that they are able to train other employees and help with troubleshooting. These may not be their primary job functions, but by engaging in this wise practice, these technologically savvy employees make themselves indispensable to the group- a smart strategy for maintaining job security in this unstable economy.
Chapter 4 - Managing a Technology Rich Classroom
Summary
In this chapter, the author discusses the common classroom management problems that occur during the first three stages of implementing a new technology into the classroom (entry, adoption, adaptation). Some of the problems described by teachers included students cheating, students goofing off behind their computers, students failing to complete homework assignments and blaming it on technological issues at home, noise created by computers and printers, as well as technological problems and failures. The end of the chapter discusses the importance of classroom management and instruction, and the author points out that effective classroom management and effective instruction are completely intertwined.
Reflection
I can only begin to imagine how hard it was for these teachers to maintain order and an optimum environment for learning when they themselves were preoccupied with trying to understand the new tools with which they were teaching. It is a shame that teachers are not typically given much training on how to implement new tools. On top of this, they are expected to figure out the technology on the fly while little to no instruction has been provided on how to manage the students' use of the technology. I think that this is a huge problem and have seen it happen myself while observing in local elementary schools. On one occasion, a teacher was given a device similar to a smartboard to use in class. The tool appeared without much notice and she struggled to create a lesson plan using the device. During the lesson (which was a math video game), the screen froze and the pen would not work. The teacher spent several minutes dealing with the problem, while the students began acting up. By the time the teacher fixed the technological issue and dealt with the students who were misbehaving, the time for the lesson was over and it was time for the children to go to a specialty class.
Summary
In this chapter, the author discusses the common classroom management problems that occur during the first three stages of implementing a new technology into the classroom (entry, adoption, adaptation). Some of the problems described by teachers included students cheating, students goofing off behind their computers, students failing to complete homework assignments and blaming it on technological issues at home, noise created by computers and printers, as well as technological problems and failures. The end of the chapter discusses the importance of classroom management and instruction, and the author points out that effective classroom management and effective instruction are completely intertwined.
Reflection
I can only begin to imagine how hard it was for these teachers to maintain order and an optimum environment for learning when they themselves were preoccupied with trying to understand the new tools with which they were teaching. It is a shame that teachers are not typically given much training on how to implement new tools. On top of this, they are expected to figure out the technology on the fly while little to no instruction has been provided on how to manage the students' use of the technology. I think that this is a huge problem and have seen it happen myself while observing in local elementary schools. On one occasion, a teacher was given a device similar to a smartboard to use in class. The tool appeared without much notice and she struggled to create a lesson plan using the device. During the lesson (which was a math video game), the screen froze and the pen would not work. The teacher spent several minutes dealing with the problem, while the students began acting up. By the time the teacher fixed the technological issue and dealt with the students who were misbehaving, the time for the lesson was over and it was time for the children to go to a specialty class.
Chapter 3 - The Evolution of Technology Rich Classrooms
Summary
In this chapter, the author describes the difficult challenges teachers faced when initially trying to incorporate technology into the classroom during the 1980's. The teachers were part of a study conducted by ACOT and the author details the five stages of implementing a new technology into the classroom, and how the teachers handled each stage. The five stages include entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation and invention. The entry stage happens when technology is initially introduced and teachers struggle to set up and test the new equipment. During adoption, the teachers attempted to blend the technology into their older methods of instruction, which was not successful. Adaptation took place when the technology was used in more purposeful ways. During this phase, teachers found that student productivity increased and higher test scores were reported. Appropriation is the stage that is reached when teachers changed their personal beliefs about technology. The invention stage begins when when teachers find new ways to integrate technology.
Reaction
As an elementary school student in the mid to late 1980's I remember when our small, rural public school was allocated funds to build a computer lab. There were about ten computers in the lab and they were all Apple computers. We would venture to the lab once per week with our teacher and sit in groups of two or three at one computer. I remember typing my name into the computer and thinking it was fun. I did not learn much from this exercise though. I imagine that my teacher must have been nervous to have to suddenly create lesson plans to teach in this lab, when she herself probably did not own a computer. It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Teachers will always need to stay on top of technology in able to relate to their students and to fully take advantage of the efficiencies offered by technological innovations.
Summary
In this chapter, the author describes the difficult challenges teachers faced when initially trying to incorporate technology into the classroom during the 1980's. The teachers were part of a study conducted by ACOT and the author details the five stages of implementing a new technology into the classroom, and how the teachers handled each stage. The five stages include entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation and invention. The entry stage happens when technology is initially introduced and teachers struggle to set up and test the new equipment. During adoption, the teachers attempted to blend the technology into their older methods of instruction, which was not successful. Adaptation took place when the technology was used in more purposeful ways. During this phase, teachers found that student productivity increased and higher test scores were reported. Appropriation is the stage that is reached when teachers changed their personal beliefs about technology. The invention stage begins when when teachers find new ways to integrate technology.
Reaction
As an elementary school student in the mid to late 1980's I remember when our small, rural public school was allocated funds to build a computer lab. There were about ten computers in the lab and they were all Apple computers. We would venture to the lab once per week with our teacher and sit in groups of two or three at one computer. I remember typing my name into the computer and thinking it was fun. I did not learn much from this exercise though. I imagine that my teacher must have been nervous to have to suddenly create lesson plans to teach in this lab, when she herself probably did not own a computer. It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Teachers will always need to stay on top of technology in able to relate to their students and to fully take advantage of the efficiencies offered by technological innovations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)