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.
Ms. Stone,
ReplyDeleteI feel your fear, though perhaps not in the same way. We do not have iPads in my class, so I cannot imagine the struggle to integrate and troubleshoot that you must be going through. I think my fear of technological integration stems from concerns about communication and the lack of interpersonal skills that studies are beginning to document in relation to the rise in technology. I find it interesting that your students relate and communicate effectively online, but struggle with it in the classroom. I agree that we are preparing them for their future, not ours, as the article you cited so astutely pointed out, but it saddens me to think that their future will put significantly less value on being able to have an intelligent and witty conversation with a person face to face or the love of the beauty of the English language unmarred by text speak and emojis. It is what we might lose by putting so high a value on technology that scares me more than actually integrating it. I am eager to learn how your students adapt to the changes and if they improve in the one on one in the classroom.
Your post got me thinking about keeping balance in the classroom and what I will do as a teacher, when all classrooms have eventually gone to iPads and computer based education, to try to balance the technology with humanity and personality and share my passion for things like actual books with bindings and margins in the notes. Guess I’m just a romantic! I will keep my eye out for any good articles that address technology integration and share them with you if I find any. Thanks for a thought-provoking post. I enjoy your upbeat attitude and enthusiasm! Have a good week in school!
Cheers,
Ms. Iseminger