Final Blog Post

My Technology Inventory Plan cited that I would use the automatic live stock exchange in order to teach students about supply and demand.
We have successfully implemented this lesson fairly recently in my economics class. Students enjoyed first "buying" stock, and then graphing what's happened to their stock over the past few weeks. As we move more into the curriculum and they develop vocabulary, what the graphs mean makes more sense to them.
Looking at Grapplings Technology and Learning Spectrum, I would say this activity falls maybe somewhere between adapting uses and transforming uses. This activity falls towards the adapting uses because it was somewhat teacher centered- the graphs were on the one teacher computer and projector. In addition, it was interesting, but we still could have taught our curriculum without using live stock, and our learning and assessment practices were still the same.
However, this is also like a transforming use because my team teacher and I used these graphs as the sole basis and examples of teaching the curriculum to our students. We had no idea whether our live "example" would rise or fall, and based what we taught based off of what happened. We used the technology to construct our meaning about economics and the stock exchange. The students in essence created their own learning experience by "buying" or "selling" stock, and voting on who's company to "invest" in.

Technology as a Crutch?

Now that technology has become more and more a part of our everyday goings-on in the classroom, I wonder what purpose it truly serves. There are times when I'm overwhelmed and stressed out and find a website that works with what I'm teaching and I just think "Yea, we can just do this for today." How good of a decision is that really? Is that the easy way out and not at all what technology was intended to be used in the classroom for?
I know that deep down it should be a way to revoluntionize and enhance current teaching- not replace it. It should make us better teachers- not lazier ones.
Does every teacher face this dilemma from time to time?
At the same time, I know I'm going to seriously be downscaling in the technology department at my new school district. With all of these resources at my hands currently I want to take as much of it with me. Does that mean I print out as many sites as I can find and make overheads of them? Just the thought of working with an overhead with those dreaded markers again with sheets flying everywhere- I'm dreading it. Maybe things will up-scale before I get there in August. I doubt it... It's been such a struggle this year to accomodate my teaching life to having more techonology it will be hard to reverse the process again.
But good teachers don't care what they have to teach with, right?

Technology Battle continues

I feel like my use of technology in my classroom has become slightly stagnant. The novelty has slightly worn off, and the thought continues in the back of my mind that next year I won't have any of this, so searching for more resources is in vain. There are so many other balls I'm trying to keep in the air, that something has to at least temporarily drop.
However, when I do come across a resource that I can't use now, but might be able to in the future, I'm not sure how to really organize it. Put the link and a description in a word document? Just save it to my favorites? Email it to myself? I have no idea, b/c I know that just trying to remember that it's there will never work.

New School, New Challenges

So I took a new position for next year in my home town, and as I was walking around the high school I realized that they didn't have nearly the resources that my current school does. As if I had a challenge already- now it's going to be reversed! No data projectors, no SMART boards, I think I saw a few overhead projectors... How depressing. All the hard work I did to incorporate movie clips and videos and current technology into my class is going to be completely in vain come next year. I was thinking, how could I take what I've already learned and apply it to what I'll be doing next year? Unless I start making overheads of every Power Point slide I have in lecture notes, I don't know how I'm going to do it.
It's exciting to be in a new place, but at the same time I already see challenges. This district boasts that it provides good salaries for it's teachers. But at the same time they hardly have any of the resources that my current district is fighting to get while keeping teacher salaries stagnant. I know I don't have a family or a lot of expenses at this point in my life, but personally I'd rather see that money go towards directly helping students in the classroom. I think that this district takes the stand point that if they have high salaries, they'll have good teachers, and good teachers don't need technology to be effective. Well, maybe not... but it does much better prepare our students. Hate to say it, but it seems absolutely everything always comes back to the money...

Making Due

Things are getting better in the technology side. They kind of ebb and flow as the days go on. For example, the last of my 3 classrooms I use throughout the day JUST got their projector, which was promised by the beginning of school- ha! The problem now is, we don't have a screen. Well, we do but it's just on the other side of the room and although they've promised to move it (yea right) I'm not waiting around for them. So instead, my students and I took matters into our own hands and ghetto-rigged white paper to the wall so we could have a screen. It's fuzzy and bumpy, but for us, for now, it works.
But seriously, what a pain? We get to do cool stuff on it but sometimes it's almost like it's not worth the hassle. This technology thing isn't as easy as everyone has cited in the past. It takes a lot of coordinated effort and a lot of work.

Absences and Technology

One thing I've found that really throws me and the development of technology in my classroom is when I can't be there. I am regularly gone for district reading meetings and Fellows release day (this results in at least 2 days a month), and this significantly impacts what my students can accomplish using technology on those days. Firstly, their routines are already thrown off because I'm not there, but in addition, class can't run as smoothly as it usually does because I don't know if my sub can or will handle all the maniuplation of technology that makes class possible. They could and in that event I would be set, but if they don't they either can't fulfil the plans or don't know what to do instead. Will this become less of a problem as time goes on?

The Tech Battle Continues

So we are in the thick of the school year and technology continues to be a concern, but has lately taken a back burner. I consistently wonder if my use of technology in the classroom is truly helping my students to learn better, or if I'm just using it because it's there and I think I should. I don't know how to "revolutionize" my teaching using technology. It seems that other things continue to take precedence like writing IEP's, and pushing through curriculum
However, the social studies department has started to take shape. We have decided to take on all our old lecture notes and turn them into Power point presentations, with the thought that the program is much more interactive, and can help students to remember the concepts better and give better examples and points to remember using the technology it offers. I am now in charge of taking all the texts for our lecture and transferring it to the Program, Josh next door works on infusing examples using pictures, sound and video clips, and Steve melds it all together. Its small, and slow, and a grueling process, but having others to help me has really made a difference and has helped to bring more technology into our classrooms.

Stagnant Technology

So I'm finally starting to feel comfortable using and having the projector in my room, and have gotten able to work around it when it doesn't have internet access or a thousand other random screw ups at the last minute. I've thought of all these great ways to incorporate technology into the room, but I don't want to be using it just to use it. It should hold a curricular purpose, drive instruction, should revolutionize my teaching. But with just me and my projector and no student computers, how is that possible? They can't use self-exploration, they can't navigate on their own, because it's me dictating where we go and what we do on the web.
How do you use just one projector, one teacher, and fifteen students to maximize technology use?

Melding with the Projector

So it's been awhile. Not going to lie, the end of the semester was crazy with IEPs and reading recomendations and semester grades. I need to get back into the habit of posting regarding using technology in the classroom.
A lot lately I've been bringing technology into my government class. Especially with the election coming up, there are so many different aspets we can bring in and that are so up to date! I've realized that even using the same guided notes that I would use from lecture but instead showing a movie from united streaming the students seem to retain it so much better than me standing up there and yaking. And it's more fun! As a team the social studies has been using power point more, incorporating pictures, examples, video clips, etc. It's been a lot easier to work as a team and using our old lecture notes and turning them into a power point (Ok, you do Monday's lecture, you work on next week's lecture, and I'll tackle Friday's).
We can create class lists so much faster, I can change and add things in a breeze, and its just so helpful. I know there are even better ways I can use it in my classroom, but right now I feel like I'm just starting tap into it. I want to take it all on at once, but I get overwhelmed. I appreciate your comments that you can only do it bit by bit!

The Technology Battle Continues

So in 2 of my 3 classrooms projectors have been installed. It's really exciting, we've been using them a lot, but I'm realizing how much more time and effort it takes to bring technology into the classroom. I've spent hours looking at videos, commercials, and film clips online and then to struggle with what aspects of the curriclum I can bring them in for, how we're going to use it, and what angle we're going to talk about it from. Like we've talked about in class, I want to use technology to enhance students' learning, not just to use it. And enhancement of learning through technology takes time. I'm starting small, but I also want to utilitize this awesome tool I've been given to it's utmost capacity.

The Projector is In

It happened on Thursday- I walked in and the tech guy was installing it. I was so excited, but at the same time almost kind of dreading it. Today the teacher I team-teach with just stood there kind of looking at it like, what are we supposed to do with this thing now? We have years and reems of paper to use for overheads, and in an ideal world they would all be transferred to electronic for use on the projector- not gonna happen. It's almost overwhelming or daunting to think about it. Makes me think of an exerpt we read in Tomlinson for Pullis' class- start small. Don't try to take it all on or you will be so overwhelmed. You have to make it manageable. We decided that we're going to make sure warm-ups are always on the projector and we already have some videos we want to create. After that, we're going to try to do one major component of each unit on the projector, and after that what we can get done. Seems easy enough. I just want to utilize this thing as best we can. We'll see how that goes.

Revelation

So I've finally found my technology necessity breakthrough. In my reading class we started talking about a book we're reading a true story about 3 boys that raise out of the ghetto they live in where everyone is addicted to crack and become doctors. Really inspiring, right? So I bring in some non-fiction texts about the truth about cocaine and how awful it is for us to read. We talk about what we already know and heard about cocaine. I had no idea what was going to happen. They have parents on it, cousins who use it, they know how to get it, what to do with it... awful stuff. They have all the wrong information and have no idea how harmful it really is.
I am empowered to empower them. It's time to bring in websites, videos, music, interviews, anything I can do to get my hands on the truth to give to them so they can correct the misconceptions they've been dished. It will be tricky with one computer in the room and no TV, but I will make it work, even if I have to bring in my laptop from home. If they aren't educated about this stuff at school, then they're going to hear all the wrong information.
I'm finally realizing that I cannot convince them by myself. I can use technology, something they're interested in, as a vehicle to help me give them the truth- that could ultimately change their life.

Time to Integrate Technology?

The projectors have arrived... but have yet to be installed. We are hoping for around Thanksgiving time. I wonder, with all the things I'm supposed to be integrating into my classroom(s), such as effective assessment, cooperative learning, metacognitive and study strategies, goal setting, anecdotals, differentiating instruction... where does technology fit in? I know we are supposed to be revolutionizing our teaching using technology, not just adding it on our to-do lists, but regardless, all of these thing require time. Where do I find that kind of time, energy, man-power? Is this something that can wait till next year, and be integrated slowly? Or is it now or never, right here, right now... or its lost forever? Right now I tell myself that these projectors being installed is the beginning of my revolutionization. And maybe I'm partially thankful for that day to be in the future, down the road... I have a lot more things in my vision right now. That chart Prof. Holland presented is true. It's October, I'm in survival mode... anyone with me?

In Survival Mode

Over a month into school, and technology continues to be a challenge. We are promised projectors by November, but I am leary as to whether that is truly going to happen. Again and again in my instruction, I find myself thinking that activities would be so easier without the overhead projector and being able to use a digital projector.
However, it is easy for us to get stuck in our ways, so I need to be ready and prepared for the change when it comes. I need to become more familiar with the programs of Smart Notebook and Inspiration. Both of those things I could be using now if I was familiar and fluent with them but that hasn't happened yet. When is there time to sit and play around with computer software? It seems that sleep and lesson planning takes precedence. I am hoping that others feel the same.

Technology a Little Lacking

I just completed my Technology Inventory, and not only did I feel that Oakland really doesn't have much to offer me, but what they do have I am not familiar with. And even worse than that, what they do offer to me I am not familiar with. I wrote in my inventory that I have Smart Notebook and Inspiration, both great software programs, but neither do I know much about. I need to find some time and sit down and tinker with them, figure out their ins and outs, and how it runs, but I just don't know when that time is going to come. The fact is that I have to make it if I want it to happen. And with that amongst everything else, I don't know where it will fit. Too many things to think about all on top of one another. Until then, I will be thankful that I have email and try to start letting kids graph their own comprehension progress online with the website edcheckup.com that I was granted access to. This technology journey is definitely going to be interesting!

So Busy...

And I'm supposed to be thinking about incorporating even more? Right now I am thinking throughout class how we could do things through Inspiration and our data projector... when we have it. Because we have such limited access (right now my kids don't even have their passwords or computer access) I'm struggling with not just how to add technology just to add it, but how to revolutionize my teaching by it. There is just so much content to learn... and if Power Point doesn't count for my guided notes, then I don't know what I'm supposed to do. It's in the back of my mind, but definitely not a priority at this point. Is that bad?....

I did it

My first first day of school. It's over, and.... I'm completely exhausted. But I am so glad it's over. I will never have to have a first first day ever again. And thats a good thing. Things went well- there were no fights, no screaming, and no one went to the safe seat (although they probably should have- I'll get them tomorrow).
It was a lot of logistics, and my first couple of classes didn't seem to into things, but it made me realize some things on my own.
Firstly, I could not get over the outpouring of support. My mentor who made me breakfast and wrote me a note, to my boyfriend who sent me a text message at 6am, to my roommate who had cookies waiting when I got home, to my fellow Fellows (thanks Mr. Hysong) who called to see how the first day went, to all the teachers who checked in on me frequently throughout the day to make sure I was surviving. I appreciated it all so much, and want to do something to help let them know that, but what? Any suggestions?
But I am exhausted. Trying to be excited about procedures and info sheets for 7 hours will wear you out, lol. And there is just so much to do, and so much to keep track of. It's daunting if you let it get to you... And we have to do it all over again tomorrow! Well, then I better be getting to bed soon.

Overheads and Email

... are about the extent that technology is used in my school building. Being low on funding, often forgotten in the mix of things, and serving a fairly low SES population makes technology a definite challenge. However, there are a limited number of computers, projectors, and Smart Boards that are being increasingly utilized at my school, so we'll have to see what happens.

Being a first year teacher, and just having graduated, I am apprehensive and anxious about many things, not just technology. I have vowed to take all that I have learned that I know is beneficial for students, along with my values, my family, and the influences in my life to make this year a good one for me, for my students, and for my colleagues. Wish me luck!