If you have four extra minutes to spare, I suggest you watch the following animated video, which has an incredibly deep, rich and challenging message: http://youtu.be/qeJJOjb7fj4
How often do we confuse our students like those teachers did in this video? Although the uniqueness of each teacher's methods and instructions are part of what makes our education system and a child's education incredibly rich, it can also cause confusion for our students. There is hope that through communication via technology (I find the fact that teachers bounce ideas off of each other through blogs, etc. encouraging), we will be able to come to some sort of standard on what we require of our students, especially when it comes to technology use in the classroom.
I experienced technology in the classroom in a new way this past Tuesday at my practicum. My supervising teacher allowed me to teach a lesson on topic/introductory sentences to the 29 grade 4 students and once they had finished their work he told them to clear their desks and listened as he read the second chapter of a book to them. After the shuffling of papers and binders faded, he sat at the front of the class and pulled out his iPhone. Instead of reading from a paper book, he read off of his phone (via iBooks, I'm assuming). To be honest, it took me by surprise.
The students start their day at our public school with 20 minutes of silent reading, and this must be out of a paper book. No electronics are allowed to be seen and no Pokémon or hockey cards are allowed to be "read" during this time. Are the teachers words and his contradicting actions confusing the students? In the grand scheme of things, I can't see which method of reading to be an issue as long as the kids are still reading, but in their developing minds they may pose the question of when it is appropriate to use technology in learning.
I realize that this post contains some sporadic thoughts and I could come up with multiple excuses for that, number one the fact that so much work has been taking its toll on me, but no matter how tired we may become as teachers, our students require us to be at our best every day and to put aside what we may be feeling or thinking and engage with them 100%. Technology shouldn't be used as a cop-out for these times, but using technology must enhance the learning goals in the classroom.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Week Two
My second week in the Education program has almost come to an end. I was engaged in my first placement this week, where I spent two mornings in a grade 4 classroom at a local school. Welcome back to portables! It reminds me of negative experiences from my years in the portables as an elementary school student...
Let's just say that it is a very different experience being in a Canadian classroom, coming out of teaching in Ghana. This is also my first time in the public school system, so I'm being forced to learn the cultural and secular routines and boundaries very quickly.
My supervising teacher is wonderful! He just took over the class after the Christmas break as the previous teacher retired so he is still trying to rein in the class after their half a year of "partying", more or less. He has taught kindergarten for the past couple years and he has played a huge part in introducing technology into kindergarten in an effective and meaningful way. He was bragging to me that they are using his methods even down in the States. The students were getting excited about the SMART board that is supposed to have gone up at the end of the week. I have never even seen one before, so having one in my placement classroom will definitely be interesting and I'm sure that I will be writing down many pointers on how and when to use it.
There are five computers/laptops in the classroom and one iPad. At the beginning of each day, the teacher asks for a volunteer to pull names out of a jar to determine who will have the chance to go on the laptops or the iPad when they have finished their work or there is free time. I'm not entirely sure if the games and such that are on these devices are educational or not, but it does give incentive for the students to do their work, if nothing else. It has been good to see that the students whose names have been drawn still don't rush through their work even though they are promised time on the electronics afterwards.
It has been a humbling experience so far to work alongside my supervising teacher. He, thankfully, is not afraid to point out different ways of doing things to me...usually directly related to something that I just did wrong, but it is wonderful to hear his constructive criticism and the manner in which he gives it is encouraging and not demeaning. It is showing me just how little I really know on the "minor", inner workings of teaching.
Let's just say that it is a very different experience being in a Canadian classroom, coming out of teaching in Ghana. This is also my first time in the public school system, so I'm being forced to learn the cultural and secular routines and boundaries very quickly.
My supervising teacher is wonderful! He just took over the class after the Christmas break as the previous teacher retired so he is still trying to rein in the class after their half a year of "partying", more or less. He has taught kindergarten for the past couple years and he has played a huge part in introducing technology into kindergarten in an effective and meaningful way. He was bragging to me that they are using his methods even down in the States. The students were getting excited about the SMART board that is supposed to have gone up at the end of the week. I have never even seen one before, so having one in my placement classroom will definitely be interesting and I'm sure that I will be writing down many pointers on how and when to use it.
There are five computers/laptops in the classroom and one iPad. At the beginning of each day, the teacher asks for a volunteer to pull names out of a jar to determine who will have the chance to go on the laptops or the iPad when they have finished their work or there is free time. I'm not entirely sure if the games and such that are on these devices are educational or not, but it does give incentive for the students to do their work, if nothing else. It has been good to see that the students whose names have been drawn still don't rush through their work even though they are promised time on the electronics afterwards.
It has been a humbling experience so far to work alongside my supervising teacher. He, thankfully, is not afraid to point out different ways of doing things to me...usually directly related to something that I just did wrong, but it is wonderful to hear his constructive criticism and the manner in which he gives it is encouraging and not demeaning. It is showing me just how little I really know on the "minor", inner workings of teaching.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Always begin with introductions
This blog, constructed by yours truly, is my attempt at fulfilling the assignments charged to me in my EDU 331 course at Redeemer University College, entitled, "Digital Technology for Learning". This course seeks to understand what the role of computers and technology is in the modern day classroom.
This is my first semester as an education student in the Concurrent Education Program at Redeemer in Ancaster, ON. I just spent a semester in Ghana, Africa teaching/tutoring an adult literacy education program, as well as co-teaching a senior kindergarten class, which was one of the best experiences that I have been blessed to have in all my travels. I went to Ghana hoping that it would answer an age old question for me: Should I be an Education student? Since grade 6, half my life ago, I have pictured my future consisting of ministry work in other countries with Education as a way into the country, society and culture. Unfortunately, the months that I spent in Ghana did not entirely answer this question for me, and I am currently trying to seek for the answers while attending Education courses this winter semester.
My goal is to teach between grades 4-6, though my experience teaching 20 KG2 (SK) students did give me an appreciation for kindergarten teachers. We had one vague curriculum book to share between the KG1 (JK) and KG2 teachers and I did not find it incredibly helpful. I therefore ended up creating Language and Literacy and Creative Arts curricula by myself, which has lead to an interest in curriculum development.
So why am I taking this course on Digital Technology for Learning, you ask? Why not? In the time that we live in here in the Western world, we are bombarded with technology right, left and centre. I am writing a blog on my own laptop, connected to WiFi, with my cell phone sitting in my bag beside me and my email account open in another tab. Our society can't seem to function properly without technology. Why not learn how to channel these technologies to benefit the learning of our students in the classroom?
Why should teachers use technology in the classroom? Where do I go to find an academic answer? Google, of course! The Advanced Education website (http://www.advanced-education.com/educators/) says that technology use simplifies lesson planning and allows teachers to communicate in a broad, efficient manner. I understand the importance of communicating with a vast audience of teachers to collaborate ideas, challenges and results, but are we using technology as a cop-out to lesson planning?
This is my first semester as an education student in the Concurrent Education Program at Redeemer in Ancaster, ON. I just spent a semester in Ghana, Africa teaching/tutoring an adult literacy education program, as well as co-teaching a senior kindergarten class, which was one of the best experiences that I have been blessed to have in all my travels. I went to Ghana hoping that it would answer an age old question for me: Should I be an Education student? Since grade 6, half my life ago, I have pictured my future consisting of ministry work in other countries with Education as a way into the country, society and culture. Unfortunately, the months that I spent in Ghana did not entirely answer this question for me, and I am currently trying to seek for the answers while attending Education courses this winter semester.
My goal is to teach between grades 4-6, though my experience teaching 20 KG2 (SK) students did give me an appreciation for kindergarten teachers. We had one vague curriculum book to share between the KG1 (JK) and KG2 teachers and I did not find it incredibly helpful. I therefore ended up creating Language and Literacy and Creative Arts curricula by myself, which has lead to an interest in curriculum development.
So why am I taking this course on Digital Technology for Learning, you ask? Why not? In the time that we live in here in the Western world, we are bombarded with technology right, left and centre. I am writing a blog on my own laptop, connected to WiFi, with my cell phone sitting in my bag beside me and my email account open in another tab. Our society can't seem to function properly without technology. Why not learn how to channel these technologies to benefit the learning of our students in the classroom?
Why should teachers use technology in the classroom? Where do I go to find an academic answer? Google, of course! The Advanced Education website (http://www.advanced-education.com/educators/) says that technology use simplifies lesson planning and allows teachers to communicate in a broad, efficient manner. I understand the importance of communicating with a vast audience of teachers to collaborate ideas, challenges and results, but are we using technology as a cop-out to lesson planning?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)