| Technology is the lastest trend in schools. It is one of the
NYS Standards (along with 6 others) that is required for graduation.
Many schools have gone through or are in the process of wiring their buildings
and classrooms. There is a big push by administration to have teachers
include technology in their lesson plans. Tech committees have written
their wish lists and set aside monies in the budget for hardware, software
and training. Already, computers are popping up some classrooms and
computer labs are opening their doors for the student body. The appearance
of these technology tools have begun a flurry of activity for educators
to try to fit them into their curriculum. Unfortunately, there is
no magic book that will tell us the answers, so we set out alone on this
"Technology Journey" hoping that we will run into a familiar face with
whom we can share plans and brainstorm ideas.
There are several things that you can do, and the first piece of advice
that I would share is to network with another teacher (any district, any
discipline) who has more experience than yourself. Consider this
person to be a mentor that you can go to with questions and not feel self-conscious
asking. This will help to get your self-esteem raised and open you
up to other experiences. Secondly, start attending trainings in various
software/hardware in you district, through the Greather Capital Region
Teacher Center, your local BOCES, etc. Also, try to put aside 30
minutes each day to "play" on a computer, whether it is your own or the
school's, or a friend's. The more comfortable you feel with a computer
and all the trimmings, the more aware you will be of its uses, and the
more likely you will integrate it into a classroom activity. Once
I think that the biggest stress with using technology is the misconception that we have to be experts before we can use it in the classroom. After all, we are teachers and we need to know more than our students in order to maintain their respect, right? With technology, you may find you are in several roles; 1) the expert (to kids who don't know how to turn the computer on), 2) a techno peer (referring to ability only - that you are about even in your abilities, perhaps differing here and there) and 3) a student (these are the students we ask to show us how to fix and program the VCR). This is a big discomfort area for some teachers not being in control. I find that with technology, kids don't care how much (or little) you
know, but instead how much they can learn. Keep in mind, even the
"Bill Gates" in your classroom makes mistakes with direct object pronouns.
They are not the experts with the content - we are! I find that there
develops between you and the students a give and take relationship.
As a matter of fact, they are quite pleased to share with you how to do
things and they do it in a way that maintains your dignity, most probably
because that is the model you have set up with them when they asked you
a question about "boot verbs". To boot (no pun intended), kids expect
things to go wrong with computers. After all, their home computer
crashes several times a week. Also, going back to the skills, what
skills do we want our students to have developed from technology integration?
Be able to fix the Y2k problem? Or problem solve, be patient, teach
others a new concept, sell an idea, work cooperative with others, apply
prior learning..........?
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