When we were asked to draw a picture of our future classrooms, I thought of all the things I would include: tables instead of desks-arranged in a semi-circle, the teacher's desk, and a whiteboard in a place where everyone would be able to see it. I then started to think about the different posters and decorations that I would have in my classroom as a Spanish teacher. But then I read the part of the prompt that mentioned to focus specifically on technology. I placed the types of technology that I had been familiar with in my high school classrooms: a television, the teacher's computer, and a projector. And then I struggled to figure out what else to put, so I added a few student computers in the back of the classroom (with a question mark in case I changed my mind). While doing this activity I kept finding myself thinking I'm not really sure what technologies are in a secondary classroom right now and that from my own experience in high school (besides using the library computers for research) they never really seemed beneficial or to enhance my learning experience. My previous experiences using technology while I taught Spanish were also not that exceptional. The few lessons in which I had used technology almost made me feel a disconnect in my interactions with my students.
After hearing about everyone else's classrooms and the ways they had thought it would be cool to use technology, I started re-thinking about my own classroom. Although I still felt like I didn't know what to include, I found the ideas of others interested. I hadn't even thought of using clickers to check for comprehension, iPads as tools for guiding reading comprehension, and interactive world maps. These ideas in combination with hearing our instructors talk more about the course and how we would be discussing different types of technology in the room ( and the good/bad implications of it) among other interesting topics, I have to say I'm excited to learn more about teaching with technology. I'm hoping to learn others' perspectives of technology in the classroom and the ways in which we can do this without it causing a conflict with the teachers' role in the classroom.
Well said! It's interesting to see how different people react to both that assignment and the idea of including technology. I fall pretty firmly in your camp with regards to students having constant access to technology. But as someone who has always been fascinated with it outside of the classroom, I also share your excitement with regards to learning more about potential uses. Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteMegan, I totally understand your perspective on valuing the use of real textbooks, having pages you can highlight with an actual marker and taking notes by hand. This is an area in which I wonder how effective technological equivalents will be in helping students learn the material presented to them. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this as the year goes on and as we begin to student teach.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you took in the suggestions of others during class that would be helpful to your classroom and let go of the ones that weren't. Each classroom has to be unique! :O)
Laura
P.S. I like that we picked the same background.
Megan - I find it interesting that you didn't feel the technology used in your school experience was helpful. I'm not sure I really thought about it at the time, but I think my experience would have been vastly different if we didn't have computer labs, projectors, and tv's in every room. It will be interesting to see how your ideas progress throughout the semester and how you will be influenced by other people's ideas. I like that you are thinking of including different types of technology, but still understand the importance of traditional teaching mediums.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteYour first comment hit home with me. I struggle with the idea that just because we have the technology, we should use it. I've found it to be a real hindrance in the classroom if not utilized correctly--not unlike technology in my own life. I encourage you to maintain a healthy skepticism as you learn more about some of these truly remarkable tools.
Megan, I really liked the idea of the semi-circle shape of your tables in the classroom. I don't think I've ever seen a class organized in that way. I'd be really interested in hearing why you would prefer using this organization over other styles. I also like the idea of having tables where students could work together which I feel is really important for language classes. A piece of technology I remember using a lot in my Spanish class in high school was tape recorders. I'm sure you could use digital voice recorders now but still I think some kind of recording device where you would have students practice their speaking skills by recording it and you assessing it could be really valuable. Also, I was wondering if there was some sort of program or website that could provide assessments similar to the style of the OPI(c) where a digital avatar could give prompts to students for speaking practice. I think that could be a cool concept as well. Maybe you could also have students practice typing in your language. I know when I was taking a language class during my undergrad, I wished there was more time to practice typing. Thanks for the post and I hope my suggestions help in some way!
ReplyDelete