Reflect on your past year of teaching. What technologies did you use? Do you think they enhanced your teaching? What obstacles did you encounter? How does educational technology fit in with your overall educational philosophy?
Last year I taught all core second grade subjects at White Elementary in the West Pullman neighborhood of Chicago. Over the past year the technologies I used in the classroom were a white board, chalk board, overhead projector, tape/CD player, calculators, and computers. On a daily basis I used the white board and chalk board which were located at the front of the classroom for most instruction. For half of the year I used the overhead projector on a daily basis, especially for mathematics instruction, but unfortunately the glass broke. During literacy center time I often had a story at the listening center which was played on a tape or CD player. I also used this technology to play relaxing music to calm the students during different activities throughout the day. During mathematics we introduced the calculator this year and did some basic skills to become comfortable with this technology.
The most obvious form of technology used in the classroom this past year was the computer. In April, our classroom received five new computers. Before this time we did not have any working computers for student use (in my class or in another class). This was an excellent addition to the classroom. We used the computers as an incentive and during center time. In the future I would like to integrate this technology more deeply into the curriculum and into all subject areas. I hope to do this in future when I have more time to prepare and develop the curriculum around computers because I believe this is an essential skill to prepare students to be productive citizens in our society.
I think you are correct to include the non-computer tools as part of your technology toolkit. Regarding computer use by younger students (K-2), you might be interested in the work of the Alliance for Childhood. There is some debate re: what is appropriate technology (in particular, computer) use of younger students.
ReplyDeletejd
You have integrated a significant amount of technology into your classroom in many different forms. Your use of the overhead for half the year deserves a round of applause. I had such a difficult time using it- moving it across the room, plugging it in, etc.(and my students were older than yours). As a second grade teacher do you find it harder or easier to use computers with your students? Do you have some students who struggle with reading the directions? What do you do for them?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have a great hold on the technology available to you.
I think that it is great that you used a variety of different technologies in your classroom in your first year. I feel your pain with the overhead projector. Mine had a short in it, so it kept blowing out the light bulbs, which are like $40 a piece. Eventually, I just quit using it. Are you thinking of doing more cooperative learning with the computers in your classroom next year? Any way that you could possibly get even more computers? I think that there would be a great opportunity for you to integrate the use of computers into the curriculum that you teach in the lower grades. The more exposure that the kids get to computers at their early developmental stages, the better. If you need some ideas, especially for science, let me know!
ReplyDeleteAnother source re: issues w/ technology use for younger students is the work of psychologist Jane Healy.
ReplyDelete