Thursday, February 24, 2011
Integrating Technology
We have been asked to learn a great deal of applications over the last two quarters -- everything from Wiki to Garage Band to Voice Thread. I still find myself struggling over how to successfully integrate technology into my classroom. I find learning the applications fairly straightforward and yet...how to use them? For what purpose and in what settings? Are the objectives for using the technology about the technology (which, in itself, may have merit) or is technology a tool to facilitate deeper learning of other subject matter? How is this to be accomplished? I am always amazed at how quickly the day goes by in my first grade class. To add technology would increase exponentially the time to get through critical subject matter. For example, writing. What if I added a component in which students set up a blog or contributed to a classroom web-site? Would the focus of learning then become the technology rather than the writing? Do I have time for that when so many of my students struggle with basic mechanics of writing? Perhaps in the intermediate elementary grades technology can more easily be integrated because overall, more students would have been exposed to computers and capable of more sophisticated work with less handholding by the teacher.
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It's been a busy quarter, and it's hard to pull things all togehter... and I'm hoping that when yoy have some time to think back on the things you've read for tech, and the many many examaples of the tech wiki for any tool you've used, and the many teacher blogs you have access to, you'll see that it's all about the learning that can happen, not at all about the tech.
ReplyDeleteThe example you give of kids struggling with writing is a great example. You think, from this side of the change that is happening in schools, that tech would interfere with the time it takes them to learn to write, yet every primary teacher I know who uses tech effectively talks first and foremost about how children's writing improves tremendously when they have an authentic audience and are writing for a purpose. My friend who teaches tech in Everett keeps reminding me that kids need hand-holding way less than teachers (who themselves may prefer a lot of hand-holding when learning tech) assume.
Keep testing your assumptions... what if integrating tech made learning more engaging and it took less time than it takes to to plow through all that paper?
Your students will do most of their writing on a screen... in school, and certainly out of school.
Teachers have so much to learn from each other... the very video on the front of the tech wiki is made by first graders.
if you're serious about these questions, email their teacher and ask her. She'd be very very happy to answer them and talk with you about what she's learned about all of these things.
What if the kids would thrive with access to different tools?
(did you learn Garage Band on your own. I trust that you heard that that assignment was dropped)
Hey Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI have similar questions to yours which I address in my most recent post, "Being Wise about Technology for Teachers" Learning to Teach.
So much of what I've wanted to know is HOW do I integrate technology into a primary classroom? What do I emphasize, or make as my primary objective? And how do I teach the necessary skills that, as you mention, take up a large portion of the instructional day,and still allow time for tech? In my current kindergarten classroom, the only "tech" the kids are exposed to is 30 minutes each week in the computer lab, working on a reading program. It is not 21st century tech at all. But they are five years old, and they are learning to log in, sign out, and click around in a program. Somehow, I want to be able to do more, but I think I need a trusty guide to lead the way! Glad to know you are considering the same questions...
~Shelley