There is no way that Kelly Petrello is going to send her fifth graders on to middle school unable to compete with students from other schools. Many of Petrello’s students at Garden Hills Elementary in Atlanta are native Spanish speakers and some don’t have access to computers, tablets and other forms of technology at home. Petrello is focused on building what she calls a digital citizen’s online classroom where students create podcasts, blogs and other technological ways to communicate and learn.
This past October at a surprise party in her classroom, Petrello received a $7,500 grant from Atlanta Families’ Award for Excellence in Education to advance her project. In a digital classroom, students not only will become more proficient with technology, Petrello says, they will become better learners, and more confident ones at that.
Q: What are you trying to do with technology?
A: I want to change the way children use technology in the classroom. I found that our kids are using technology mainly to find a quick answer on the Internet but there are so many other things that the children could be doing. I want our students to use technology to get information, do presentations, to really be digital citizens.
Q: What kind of technology are you talking about?
A: I’d like to infuse blogs, podcasts and video presentations in the classroom. Right now, we have a lot of online websites where adults teach lessons. I’d like some of those videos to be made by our kids, with kids teaching kids. Kids are in love with social media. We need to teach them at an early age to understand the benefits of the technology to generate ideas, communicate with each other, even have debates online.
Q: So technology is a motivator?
A: The minute you bring technology into the classroom, the students’ interest level jumps. It is talking in a way they understand. This year, I have kids who lack the confidence to speak in front of a big group of people. If I tell them that they are making a video that is going online and they get to communicate with other kids, suddenly that is something they want to do. Building those communications skills will provide success for the kids in middle school.
Q: Does technology help your Spanish speakers learn English?
A: Without a doubt. When they hear themselves on camera, they learn from that. They are improving their speaking capabilities. If they are writing online, they don’t want to make errors because people are reading their work. Everything else falls into place from there — the grammar, the speaking, the confidence. When projects have a purpose the students are more actively involved.
Q: What about the concern that kids already use technology way too much?
A: This can be true for some kids who have access to computers and phones. Students use technology to play games and connect with friends, as a kind of time filler. To me, it’s like we give kids a pencil, but never teach them how to write. We can’t blame them for scribbling. Technology is the student’s new pencil and textbook. I believe it’s my responsibility to teach children how to use it to gain knowledge and share ideas.
Q: How is the $7,500 grant spent?
A: With the grant, $3,500 will be used to build on the technology we already have in the classroom; $1,500 is a professional development grant that goes to me to strengthen my skills; the rest is a personal stipend that I can use however I wish.
Q: What are you going to do with all your cash?
A: I’d like to take a class to improve my Spanish so I can better reach English language learners. As far as my own money, I actually already went out and bought some books for the classroom.
The Sunday Conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by email at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
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