A long time ago (ok, last Summer) in a classroom far, far away (Breckenridge, Colorado) ... a teacher (yours truly) had a vision to find a way to not only teach her content (Spanish), but also truly prepare all students for the technology-rich world that surrounds us. I would love to create a "paperless classroom". Instead of students walking in with enormous backpacks, taking out a pen, paper, their book, etc; I would like for students to walk in, unplug their assigned iPad and sit down. This is my ideal, my utopian classroom. I'm not there yet...but maybe soon.
I wanted to find a way to increase the technology access in my classroom. My school has 3 computer labs in addition to a new mobile iPad lab that are all available for checkout by the teachers. The thing is, as a teacher, your entire thinking (and therefore your lesson planning) shifts if you have daily access to technology resources; as opposed to: on Thursday we're in the lab, but only for periods 2, 3, and 7.
DISCLAIMER: Shared resources are certainly better than NO resources. I do not want to in any way sound ungrateful. I know that there are many of you out there that would be happy to be able to take your class to any computer lab, but maybe your school doesn't have one. I am fully aware (and you should be too, if you are going to continue reading this blog) that when it comes to technology, I AM A GLUTTON!
What I don't want is for students to merely be exposed to technology in the form of my wirelessly connected LCD projector, Elmo document-camera, flip video camera, etc. (I warned you I'm a glutton!) Although all of these tools are great and help me immensely during instruction, every single one of these = tech. in the hands of the teacher.
What I want is a technology-rich classroom, where the daily lessons = tech in the hands of the students. I want my students learning how to read, write, and speak in Spanish while they learn how to communicate, research, connect, problem-solve, etc using the myriad of digital resources available. Instead of coming back at me with answers to my questions, I want my students to come to me with questions of their own. I want my students to be able to explore the content on a much wider scale that what I am able to offer them within the confines of my classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment