I am very proud to work with a group of people who see the importance of moving forward and grasping the age of technology. As I look at the age of our staff, there are many reasons we should fail at implementing web 2.0, submitting assignments digitally, using I-pads, and other technological gadgets. I mean let's face it. We are not young! We have not grown up with these gadgets! But that is not hindering us. I see my teachers daily implementing new methods of teaching. No longer are the students sitting in rows just listening. They are doing and they are doing it together. These not so young teachers are grabbing technology by the horns and moving forward. They understand the importance of the change we must embrace. They see that for kids to be successful, we can't do things the same old way.
I am very excited that our students are learning to collaborate using Google docs and learning to present projects using WeVideo, I-movie, and Prezi. These students are ready to take these activities and put them to work. I see Interwrite boards in action as well as netbooks for not only submitting assignments but "flipping" the classroom. I look forward to next week when we start blogging with the fifth grade and hopefully move on to the sixth grade. Our students are gaining knowledge that other schools dream about their students learning.
With all the new pressures teachers face today, TESS, Common Core Standards, embracing technology, tons of paperwork, it is difficult to be a passionate teacher. But passion is what I see thrive at our school. Parents may not understand the lack of a textbook or the grading of a project by a rubric but we are moving forward. We are striving to make our students College and Career Ready.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Being Better
At Leslie Intermediate School we know it is important for our students to learn to use technology. We know exposure to digital knowledge is necessary for the students to become prepared for the next step in their education. Not being digital natives ourselves provides a great struggle for our staff. This vast knowledge of ipads, iphones, itunes, netbooks, internet, etc. has always been a part of our students' world. They have limited knowledge of 3 channels, landlines, partylines, overhead projectors, 8 mm film and 8 track tapes. Just how can we as educators "teach" these students what they need to know to use this digital world? We attend various PD sessions, we read about different aps and 2.0 websites, but is that going to make us capable of teaching these students to use this information? The answer is probably not. To become better educators of this digital generation we are going to have to become digital immigrants. We are going to have to move to this land and immerse ourselves into this world. Just like an immigrant comes to a new country and learns to survive we are going to have to learn to survive so that we can be the educators we need to be.
How can we make our travel as digital immigrants a success? The easiest way is to become involved and practice. One of the best ways to grow as an educator is to use Twitter. Learning to follow the people who are on the forefront of education makes for great research and learning. An educator can build their on Personal Learning Network of individuals with the same interest and desires as they have. Even more valuable is learning the correct hashtags to search.. #edchat, #satchat, #edtech, #CommonCore are great examples.
Another tool is to practice using blogs and wikis. These are great tools for collaboration and communication that teachers can use with their students and also allow parents to see what their children are doing and what they are learning. If you do not want to practice with your students, gather a group of teachers to become a mock classroom. Set up a blog and/or a wiki with assignments for your colleagues to contribute to. You can set the settings for private so that only the people you want to see what you are practicing can see.
Pick an app. We are blessed to have at least one ipad per classroom and have more coming. Teachers need to become familiar with the apps that are out there for their curricular area and become an expert in the ones they find valuable. Teachers sometimes get sidetracked by downloading several apps and then never learn to use them properly. Good apps to have in general are Evernote, a whiteboard app like ShowMe, and Google Drive as that is supported by our school e-mail.
Explore and become an expert in at least one 2.0 website every nine weeks. We don't need to overwhelm ourselves with all that is out there. With just a little exploration, teachers will soon learn the transfer of skills from one website to another.
The best tool we probably have is our students. Let us be the communicator of the content and let the students teach us the how to present the information. They are far more familiar and far more skilled in this area then we can hope.
Trying to teach this world of digital natives is going to be a challenge for us digital immigrants but with commitment to practice it is something we can do.
How can we make our travel as digital immigrants a success? The easiest way is to become involved and practice. One of the best ways to grow as an educator is to use Twitter. Learning to follow the people who are on the forefront of education makes for great research and learning. An educator can build their on Personal Learning Network of individuals with the same interest and desires as they have. Even more valuable is learning the correct hashtags to search.. #edchat, #satchat, #edtech, #CommonCore are great examples.
Another tool is to practice using blogs and wikis. These are great tools for collaboration and communication that teachers can use with their students and also allow parents to see what their children are doing and what they are learning. If you do not want to practice with your students, gather a group of teachers to become a mock classroom. Set up a blog and/or a wiki with assignments for your colleagues to contribute to. You can set the settings for private so that only the people you want to see what you are practicing can see.
Pick an app. We are blessed to have at least one ipad per classroom and have more coming. Teachers need to become familiar with the apps that are out there for their curricular area and become an expert in the ones they find valuable. Teachers sometimes get sidetracked by downloading several apps and then never learn to use them properly. Good apps to have in general are Evernote, a whiteboard app like ShowMe, and Google Drive as that is supported by our school e-mail.
Explore and become an expert in at least one 2.0 website every nine weeks. We don't need to overwhelm ourselves with all that is out there. With just a little exploration, teachers will soon learn the transfer of skills from one website to another.
The best tool we probably have is our students. Let us be the communicator of the content and let the students teach us the how to present the information. They are far more familiar and far more skilled in this area then we can hope.
Trying to teach this world of digital natives is going to be a challenge for us digital immigrants but with commitment to practice it is something we can do.
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