This is my first post as a classroom teacher! After 6 years as an edtech facilitator for the district, and 9 years more as a technology resource teacher in an elementary school, I’m back in the classroom teaching 5th grade, …and I’m terrified. How will it go?
For years, I’ve been supporting teachers and offering workshops and learning opportunities on how to use technology in the classroom. What I shared was well received, but except for a few who embraced using technology regularly, most teachers lamented that there wasn’t time to use all these wonderful tools. I often felt that I needed to walk the talk to really demonstrate how learning can fundamentally shift from teacher centered to student centered, by using collaborative tools to create knowledge from learning.
Now, I’m faced with reality. I don’t have control over my schedule because I will be team teaching during the required 2 hours of Language Arts, 45 minutes of ESL, possibly 1 hour of math, as well as during Science 2 afternoons out of the week. One afternoon is for PE, one is a shortened day, so that leaves me with one afternoon block to teach digital citizenship, internet safety, and how to use some of the tools I plan to use this year. I’ll just need to be creative, and get it in during instructional time, along with Social Studies, somehow. The other 5th grade teachers want to learn to use more technology in the classroom. Maybe we’ll work through some of it together.
I’ll be documenting and reflecting here on what steps I’ll be taking to make sure students are allowed the opportunities they need to ask good questions, research, collaborate, publish, and reflect.
Right now, I have a few things started:
- I have a classroom website and a classroom blog set up.
- I’ve upgraded the 2 iMacs in my room to 10.4 and added 512MB of memory to the one that only had 128MB. (Thank goodness the 2 Windows 7 computers in my room are new.)
- I updated my Acer Netbook to Ubuntu 11.
- I updated my Chrome Notebook.
- I’m browsing for good 5th grade apps to add to my 2 iPads, iPodTouch, and old iPhone 3G.
- I’m thinking about what programs I’m going to be putting on all computers and IOS devices, so that work is seemless and flowing.
Right now, as I go through the curriculum, I’ll be noting where I can bring in technology to make the learning more meaningful, relevant, and authentic.
Students will be start next week. They deserve the very best!
