Read About Students Using Technology in Illinois
Teachers in Illinois are saying their children, as young as 4 and 5, are finding ways to implement technology and become more engaged in their learning. I did a complete palm-smack to the face when I read this article and felt like DUH was in order. This was just released a few days ago; they are discussing how important technology is and how engaged they felt like their students have become through the use of technology. The surprising thing isn't the information they are providing, it is the time in which they are providing it; for instance, they discuss "interactive whiteboard," i.e. SmartBoards, HELLO! SmartBoards are a thing of the past, we need to ensure that we are using all technology across the board in all schools and disciplines.
I guess I am spoiled because now I am at a school that values and encourages the constant use of technology; but I'm just so unsure of how people adequately prepare their young people for the future without it.
Technical schools and other avenues still must use a broad sense of Microsoft at the least?? I feel like I have seen the opposite of each spectrum, a school that provides ample opportunities to improve student knowledge through the use of technology. I've also seen a school that had little technology because of a large lack in funding. I feel like I'm out of touch of the normal public school.
Opinions?
Agreed. Face-palm worthy. I came from a district where there were Promethean boards in every single room, no joke, even in the nurse's office and gymnasium. We were required to post on Blackboard every single day, and students regularly submitted to teacher-assigned blogs and discussion boards. That was 2008. Now in my current school, we have the one computer lab. For 1700 students. I know budgets are a big reason for these type of issues, and admin would probably LOVE to have 10 labs instead of one, but it is still a frustrating issue no less.
ReplyDeleteBudget is absolutely a problem, as well as time management... I know that most teachers spend so many after-school hours rewriting their lessons every year, and that can be a challenge in itself without having to learn about, and seek out, new ways of using technology. (As we've seen in this class, it takes more than just a willingness to use technology-- sometimes we don't even know what to search for in order to find resources that would be helpful, and we come across them by chance or through a colleague.) Personally, I've written proposals for new technology that get lost in piles of paperwork, red tape, and funding issues for years. I'm still waiting to see the fruits of my laborious proposal for the response system I wrote three years ago!
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