Get Schooled

By Jeff

June 16, 2006 04:21 PM | Link to this

I’ll be one of GA’s newest 21st Century Schools Project teachers after the move, so I’m obviously a fan of constructive ed-tech.

That said, I ban almost any technology from my classroom that a student would bring in, unless I specifically authorize a certain tech. For example, while I ban any cell phone, mp3 player, cd player, camera, etc, I allow virtually any calculator my students want… even though a few of them have games on them now. For example, a TI-84 has a few gams pre-loaded and you can download even more. It also has note-storing capabilities. But its primary use is a calculator, and a dang powerful one at that. Therefore it is allowed…

By apple

June 16, 2006 04:58 PM | Link to this

I love all of the new technology…..however, I ban all from my classroom INCLUDING calculators because I am convinced that if students do not learn to do simple math without calculators their brains are going to turn to jelly ! You cannot imagine how many students enter middle school not knowing the multiplication tables…which in the past were learned in drills in 3rd grade….They expect to be able to use a calculator for everything…After they know and are proficient at the basic “rithmetic”, then and only then do I allow calculators .

By Jeff

June 16, 2006 05:05 PM | Link to this

Apple,

If that is indeed the case with multiplication… my kids are going to HATE me in 6th grade next year!! (Reason being that by the time they leave my class they WILL know their multiplication tables… THROUGH TWENTY!!! - not just 12 as normally required)

By Mike

June 16, 2006 09:19 PM | Link to this

Most teachers in this state are not bright enough to use the devices the kids use.

By Jeff

June 19, 2006 08:28 AM | Link to this

Mike,

Its not that most of the rest of us aren’t bright enough - many of GA’s teachers do hold Master’s degrees after all - most simply either don’t have the time to put into learning the tech, don’t have the resources to learn it (would YOU drive 1 hr+ to go to the nearest training after working you @ss off all day?), or for whatever reason just WON’T learn it. I’m an oddity, I know. About the only technology that I know kids are into that I don’t use is mp3 players.

By Kage

June 19, 2006 09:10 AM | Link to this

I love using technology in the classroom. I teach elementary school, so it’s a bit different. Kids aren’t bringing in their own toys; they’re using my gadgets. I don’t have to worry about cheating.

My favorite gadgets are the iPod and a SmartBoard. We write and record songs to go with our curriculum (e.g. rock songs about the rock cycle). We also record historical facts and then go on a fake historical walk, toting the iPod to hear each group’s fact. The SmartBoard is just too fantastic for words. In addition to all of its interactive features, it makes the movies we create look like they’re being shown on the big screen.

In defense of calculators: In my room, calculators are not used to solve basic arithmetic problems. I ensure that kids memorize their facts (an uphill battle), and I use calcuators for other activities. Some examples: One, calculator puzzle cards so kids become familiar with how a calculator functions (Enter the # of eggs in two dozen, divide that by 4, add 18…after umpteen more steps you turn the calculator upside down and it spells a word.) Two, critical thinking exercises. (How can you get the calculator to output 10010 without using the 1 or 0 key?) Three, as a tool to help kids tackle problems beyond their abilities. EG - beg. of the year with 3rd graders who have not yet begun multiplication. If our class has a goal of raising $487 for a service learning project, how much would the 22 of us have to raise? I let the kids figure out what operation to use, because that’s half the battle. Then we use a calculator to solve and check it, discussing whether or not the answer made sense. Calculators make real-world math problems accessible to students who have not yet learned certain skills.

By Jeff

June 19, 2006 09:26 AM | Link to this

Kage,

Tell me more about SmartBoard… I’ll have one in my class next year, but I’ve never seen an operating one…

By OldSchool

June 19, 2006 10:01 AM | Link to this

Jeff, I’ve had my Smartboard since ‘97. I don’t know if the technology has changed much since then but my is connected to a computer and I can use my laser mouse, the keyboard or my finger to draw on the board. The color line I get depends on which electronic marker I remove from its tray. I can save my sketches and create a “book” for later review. I can also project programs (AutoCAD here) for class demostrations. Again my finger or the mouse/keyboard work. I can even call up an onscreen keyboard. My projector is a very powerful one and was rather expensive even then ($6000). I chose it because it is capable of projecting clearly in a room that has some ambient light. I can also project dvds/videos, powerpoints and other instructional materials onto the wall or other large surface for easy viewing.

But one of my favorite bits of “technology” is my filmstrip projector and 1956 drafting filmstrips. Projected on the whiteboard, they become interactive with regular wb markers. Because the students have never been exposed to this old equipment, they are fascinated by it and I can enjoy a lively, engaged class. Of course, it’s not for everyday consumption and I have to be very creative with the presentation of the material (“new jet airplanes?) but it has been a really fun way to introduct some of the basic skills/info about drafting that has not changed over the years (geometry, multiviews, sections, auxillary views, dimensioning, etc.)

As for Mike’s comment, some of us are very into the latest technology and adapt to it quite well. We just might have to purchase it out of our own pockets because school funding just isn’t there or must be spread too thinly for everyone to have the latest technology. I went through the InTech training and learned to use software that I was told I would NOT have access to because we didn’t have enough licenses for all teachers. (So, I donated the software to my program through our technology department so I COULD have access.)

By Leia

June 19, 2006 10:45 AM | Link to this

Mike must need a hug! Speaking only for myself, I have a BS in Computer Science and a PhD in Instructional Technology, so I would venture to guess that I know a wee bit more than the “gadgets” my students are using - inside and out!

If there’s anything I don’t know about - I have twin 7th graders at home and 125 high schoolers whom I teach everyday, so I guess I could ask any one of them! Additionally - my husband is a software engineer, so I usually have access to the latest in technology (albeit beta versions!) before anyone else - so there!!

By waterbug24

June 19, 2006 11:22 AM | Link to this

Love the Activboard (pretty much the same thing as a Smartboard). I teach Pre-K in a school where every teacher has an Activboard. I use mine for calendar time, reviewing and discussing books, playing educational games, and learning letters, sounds, and sight words. There are also great resources on the web that I can now share with my class that I couldn’t previously. As for the ipod, I have two, a shuffle and a mini. I haven’t been able to find a use for them in my classroom, however, I have used itunes to create CD’s for each of the themes that I teach, along with downloading books, nursery rhymes, and stories that I play during naptime. Also, I love the podcasts for education. FYI-there is a great one on Williamsburg for all you upper grades!

By Kage

June 19, 2006 01:17 PM | Link to this

Hey Jeff The SmartBoard is a fantastic tool. I can’t speak a lot to secondary applications, but here’s how I use it in elementary school. I tend to keep the day’s worth of activities in one file (think of it like pages in PowerPoint in terms of what files look like). We start out with a daily language activity. I can type in the week’s worth ahead of time. The kids make corrections directly onto the board using the colored pens. In math, we use it to prove solutions. Several children will have the opportunity to prove an answer while the other kids evaluate their work. One of my favorite things about the Smartboard is that I can save anything as a picture. If I want to refer to a certain way Malik solved a problem, then I can pull up his work. If I want to insert Malik’s solution into professional writing, I can do that. There are tons of manipulatives built in as well as many flash demonstrations. It’s easy to provide scaffolding with a Smartboard. When I started teaching the continents and oceans, I had labels at the bottom of the map. The kids would drag the labels to the proper place. As they became more confident with that, I took away the labels and the kids would write the names of the continents and oceans using the ‘markers’. Another favorite of mine is using the site Quia with the Smartboard. Quia is a subscription site, one of my favorite tools in the classroom. It allows you to write questions for games (jeopardy, who wants to be a millionaire, etc.). With a Smartboard, these games become a lot more fun. Another thing I like to do is import photos of insects/sea life/whatever we’re studying and have the kids label their parts. The possibilities are endless.

By North Georgia Middle School Teacher

June 20, 2006 07:39 PM | Link to this

As a middle school teacher, I find technology is a valuable weapon in our fight for the students’ attention in class. I also have a Smartboard and a Classroom Performance System (each student has remote controls and gets immediate feedback on their answers on anything multiple choice or true false)I also use a LCD Projector to utilize the Internet and other technological devices for all to see. However, I ban the use of personal student technology in my class while I am instructing. I teach Language Arts, so calculators aren’t an issue, but I don’t allow cell phones at all (school rule), and ipods, mp3s or palm pilots only during the beginning and end of class. My concerns aren’t really about cheating, but I feel that middle school is a time where kids are really self-conscious and that my allowing some students to use things that help in classwork that the other students can’t afford would be setting a bad example. I do encourage them to use them for organization. I encourage the use of spellcheckers and electronic dictionaries, but also teach my students that they aren’t always effective, as they don’t catch usage mistakes since both the used and the intended words are spelled correctly.

By EW

June 21, 2006 09:49 AM | Link to this

I just finished my first year of teaching middle school math. I allow my students to use calculators for the complicated stuff (Pi, square roots, etc.), but I make sure they understand how to solve all problems without calculators first. Occasionally, I will allow Ipod time as a reward for good behavior/performance. I have seen PDA’s work wonders for kids who hate writing in an agenda- I guess it’s the novelty factor. My classroom also has an Activboard (with the voting devices), classroom computers, and the TI Navigator systems. I am a technology/gadget junkie, so I use it all. Outside of teaching, I love buying the latest stuff (which I usually learn about from my students)!