Technology and a non tech-savvy person.

My last blog post I was all for technology and the integration of iPads in the classroom. However, as my placement has gone on and we have yet to use them, I start questioning this whole thing of technology in the classroom. Why is it such a big thing to have iPads in the classroom? All my CT and I have had are problems! First, we had to spend an hour putting cases on thirty iPads. Second, we had to decide what apps we wanted to be on them, this is not that bad part. Third and final, as we are pushing out the apps, the computer crashes and well that put a stop to pushing apps to the iPads. With all these problems, our use of the iPads has been postponed even longer. So what is the point of having us use iPads if we cannot use them until the second quarter of the school year? What do we do when the technology fails in the middle of a lesson? We have been preparing lessons that do not involve iPads so far, obviously. When we do get to start incorporating them, we will have to have two lesson plans in case technology does decide to fail on us. I am not complaining about doing more work, just seems a little silly to try to incorporate iPads instead of doing something on paper. I know the students are excited to use them and we can do really awesome things on them, but there is always that question in mind.

So to continue this thought in a more professional and not as a complaining note, I am still excited to use them and for the students to use them. As I was saying about if we are just replacing paper with technology, what is the point? Well, I think the point of them is to integrate and not replace. This can be hard to wrap your brain around when so used to paper. I was thinking how this could be beneficial to the students and what not. We did a reading in the text Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classrooms by Randy Bomer about how to engage students in writing and reading. I was thinking about how I could use the iPads to get the students’ attention with writing. Even with all the technology issues, we might as well make use of them while we have the opportunity. Bomer states about writing: “It needs to fit into the things hey already do and care about—music, friends, TV, nature, spirituality, politics, family, sports, games” (pg. 57). I really do think that having the students use the iPads, maybe they would be more willing to use them and get more interested in finding things to write about. This is still a developing thought, however. Another hope is that students will be willing to write on the iPads, some students like writing directly on a device while others prefer paper. They will have that tool available to them either way. So even though so far there have been multiple problems, I’m still trying to keep an open mind to this whole technology thing.We will have to see as the year progresses if iPads are this really great tool to have in a classroom or if they are in fact just replacing paper.

Bomer, R. (2011). Building adolescent literacy in today's English

classrooms (p. 57). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Reflection #1

Integration of technology in my classroom this year is a big thing. In doing so, a lot of extra baggage comes along with this. How do we integrate technology and not replace? How do we keep students focused and not distracted? Will the technology keep students engaged? These questions are going through my mind as we actually begin with using iPads. These questions have appeared when I started to think about planning a unit. They also seem to show up frequently when technology is brought up in education in general. I have to admit, I am nervous about using them on a daily basis. I’m not sure what I am fully getting into.

Technology is my primary focus this year, as read. My class has not yet experienced working with the iPads yet, but we have started to work with Edmodo (a website that allows students to connect with one another and the teacher in an educational setting). My students have responded really well to this website so far. They have had to turn in their first website using it and have had homework posted to it. My class has also done well communicating with one another on this website from what I have seen so far. This is where I get confused, my students communicate so well online to one another and with my CT and myself, however, they have not done so well communicating in the classroom. This is even with having them participate in fun activities in the classroom. My students just do not talk! So, let me explain what exactly we have been doing. We, as a class, have been going over sentences. This means, recognizing a simple sentence and identifying the verb and subject. I know this is a snooze fest. I am hoping that is why they have not been talking. Defiantly keeping my fingers crossed on this one. I was thinking though, if I had the iPads available and if it were up to me, how could I make this less boring? This is a tough question to answer because what goes through my mind is: how can you even make sentences engaging? My first thought is group work, have them talk it out and engage with one another. My second thought is, if I had the iPads, have them make sentences on the iPads and identify what they are supposed to and share with one another that way. They would get to use the technology and may be more interested. There could even be study games to learn the different verbs. See, integration of technology!

The idea of integrating technology in my classroom is terrifying, especially with how my students are right now. They are great students; I just need to work on getting them to talk more. I will see how that goes and update on that. My main concern, aside from the lack of talking, is how will I know what are good apps that my students will like? There are a ton of apps out there and it can be intimidating, I am only starting out. So, for advice on this, I went to edutopia.org (link given at bottom). The author, Andrew Marcinek, seems to be an advocate for technology being integrated into the classroom. He gives advice about starting out and great apps and sites to give a try. We are using Edmodo and Google Drive, which are two that he suggests. This article or blog helps one to understand what exactly integration is and will do for our classrooms. At the end he says “Ultimately it's not about how many apps we integrate, but about providing our students with the best access and opportunities to contemporary learning resources. As educators, we must prepare our students for their future, not ours.” This stood out to me because the students are going into a technology based future and they do need to know how to use it and be comfortable in doing so. I may be afraid, but that won’t stop me from trying. I just hope I can get my students interested and engaged. I also hope that iPads will help keep them engaged. We will see how this goes.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/technology-and-teaching-finding-balance-andrew-marcinek