The Impact of the Shift in Technology
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A Huge Shift in Technology!Since I started teaching 20+ years ago, there has been a huge shift in technology. When I first started teaching in Ashland, there was no computer lab. I didn't have a computer for my desk, or one for the students to use. I did have a tape recorder and some headphones and I scrambled around to find some books on tape for the students to listen to. But even this was difficult because there wasn't Amazon.com, at least that I know of, to purchase the books and cassettes from. I had to physically go to the bookstore or to Hammett's Teacher Store to purchase these. If I didn't need them immediately, I could put in an order with the office for the following year, back when we were given a small classroom budget to order things for the classroom that we personally wanted. This was time consuming. This listening center was tricky to manage too, and needed a lot of teacher direction so the students could use them safely, without damaging them. Now we have 2 computers in the classroom on which they can listen to stories and a listening center with a CD player for listening to stories as well. The school has purchased many books on CD, and some teachers have gotten grants for more, which they offer to share, which helps greatly. The CD's are much easier to use and therefore require less teacher direction so that my time can be better spent on something else.
Having a personal desk computer has helped greatly with communication...sending out informational emails, crafting notes with highlighted parts, underlined parts, and clip art to help highlight the important parts. When I first started teaching, I would hand write a note onto those awful carbon sheets and then bring it to the machine (mimeograph?? I forget what it was called now!) and turn the handle over and over to get the purple-inked copies to send home. This also applied to any worksheets I needed to make up, nothing fancy, just hand-written sheets or sheets typed on my typewriter ..no pictures or highlighting, maybe the occasional underlining to highlight important parts.Now adding text features and clip art to notes is the way I do everything it seems.
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| Mimeograph Machine |
As for the students, they have access to so much technology now it's incredible! They easily speak about their iPod Touches, their iPads, and laptops...and this is from my 2nd graders! And while I think this is great, I think it makes teaching a little more challenging. As teachers we really need to be up on technology because that's where the students are, but it often means a whole shift in thinking. Since I have gotten the 2 computers last year in my classroom for student use, and then the 3 iPod Touches for classroom use, I have worked hard to make sure these don't sit idle. I have tried hard to find good websites for the students to use, and good apps for the students to use for review practice and enrichment. This takes a lot of time, as it is not my specialty. So sometimes I feel as though everything takes more time now than before because I am doing a lot of what I used to do, then also trying to find good technology for the students, and for myself so I feel as though I am doing double the work sometimes. But I need to sit back and also think about all the time-saving opportunities there are, which balance things out.
It is incredible to think how far technology has come just in the last 20 years. It seems like you have done a great job trying to keep up with it as well as implement the best you can with the resources you have available in your classroom. It is always crazy to me how familiar our young students are with all these new devices. It makes me realize even though I think I am up to date on things there is always some new gadget to learn how to use!
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me laugh is that I had 2 different student come up to me last week asking me how to open the cassette tape! We talk about the speed of the advances in technology and I think it's important to note how quickly the latest 'fad' goes out of style. I use cassette tapes every week with my listening center, but students in my class look at them as if they are from outer space. Sometimes it's difficult to jump into a new kind of technology because you never know how long it will last.
ReplyDeleteIs it important to stay up to date with all the latest technology? I think it is more important to know what technology can have the best impact on your class. This is where having a trained professional (or two or three) on hand could make a huge difference. Imagine calling the help center (like a librarian does for books) and saying "I want my students to be able to do cool book repors on X-device, what can I do?" Two days later a meeting and a solution on hand with training and you only spent that time on the email and in the training. This would make life much easier.
ReplyDeleteI think your statement of not wanting your IPod touches and other devices to sit idle. I think there is a shift now in how we develop lessons and activities to remember to include technology into all of those...for me, I have to remember that I have certain devices in my classroom to enhance my everyday teaching. What a change from when I started 10 years ago.
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ReplyDeleteHa, I played a video cassette the other day for a class of third graders, and when I went to put it in the VCR, several of them said, "What's that?" I too get overwhelmed by the amount I have to learn and feel I need to keep up with. I want the new technology available in my classroom, but I do get nervous about it sitting idle! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that's maybe not quite ready to just jump right in once it becomes available. I love the ideas above about having a help center, because 1) it lifts a small weight off my shoulders, and 2) I completely agree! Knowing a lot about a smaller number of effective tools seems much more valuable to me.
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