Two months ago, I was flying in and out of Detroit every single week, working 12 hours a day, and was at the beck and call of grumpy clients who ran the corporate world. Now, I go to school, work with kids, and have homework every night. While many of my friends and family members questioned my decision to quit the "Big Four" lifestyle and become a teacher, I know I made the right decision.
We were asked to create blogs in our Education 504 class: Teaching with Technology. I am so excited for this class, because one of my majors in undergrad was Computer Science, so I feel at home in the technology world. The first thing our teachers asked us to do, was draw a picture of our "ideal" classroom, focusing on the inclusion of technology.
Ignoring my extreme lack of artistic ability, my drawing was also problematic for a few other reasons. First, I only drew 16 desks in my classroom. While this might be wishful thinking, the reality is that I could have twice as many students in my actual class. Also, I included so many technology items in my classroom, that it would only be feasible if I worked at an incredibly rich and technological advanced school. Since I am a Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow (WWTF), I will be working in a low-income school upon graduation from this program, so chances are technology in my classroom will be scarce.
I think that teaching kids the importance of technology and all of the great things it can do for them is extremely important, so I am interested in learning how I can incorporate technology into an urban classroom with a strict budget. The classroom I'm in might not have textbooks, let alone smart boards and projectors. Furthermore, teaching urban students about technology is even more important at school, because chances are they aren't exposed to it at home. I'm excited for what this class will offer, and I can't wait to learn more about technology in the classroom and how I can incorporate it into my low-income schools.
hey Morgan, I appreciate your thoughts about the importance of providing our future students with the opportunities to gain skills with using technology. Nowadays, that really gives you an advantage in that being proficient with various technologies is a marketable skill. I hadn't really been thinking about that so much, rather I had been thinking about how these technologies would be useful for academic purposes, but I think the fact that this could all be really relevant to our students lives outside the classroom is significant too. It also seems like it would be more engaging for students to work on projects when they feel like they can use what they are learning outside the classroom as well. Interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteConsidering the financial limitations of our school is something that is also at the front of my mind. While I'm not a WWTF, I can envision myself returning to a high needs school, and getting creative with technology budgets will be imperative. In Arkansas, my high school used its tech budget solely on iPads, which were rarely used because we did not have enough money for professional development to teach teachers how to use them in an educational setting. I hope this class can also give us insight into the most useful tech tools, so we can become advocates not just for the tech, but also for the financial future of our schools.
ReplyDeleteMorgan,
ReplyDeleteLike Jayanthi, I wonder about a teacher's responsibility to teach students basic computer/technology skills. A lot of school don't have computer classes and so the job falls to teachers of other disciplines to help students learn about technology.
That said, I wonder what is essential these days. Obviously typing seems important. And maybe an understanding of how to research. Students might not be aware of "keywords" or even how to pinpoint a specific topic that they'd like to look up.
I'm curious what else you think is vital to know in this day and age that students might not learn on their own? Or will this new generation be so fluent in technology that there's nothing new a teacher could impart in that department?