My current district has quite a bit of technology. We aren’t
one-to-one, but it seems like that we are heading that way. We recently
purchased two new Chromebook carts at each of the middle schools I work at, for
a total of four all together. Many teachers prefer to use the Chromebook carts and
they are a hot commodity in both schools.
We did recently clean out a work room and found about five
or six overhead projectors that had a thick layer of dust on them. Some of the
older teachers had a laugh about them. I personally, have never taught with an
overhead. I have always had access to a projector. Every classroom in the
schools that I work at has at least a projector. Promethean boards are available
on request. From what I have gathered
from my colleagues is that the district has money to spend on technology, but
they are very careful about how they use it. Take the Promethean Board issue,
they will get one for a teacher that feels that they will use it, but they
recognize that many teachers will not use it in a way besides a projector
screen. They did however, just buy every student and teacher a subscription to
Google Read and Write. This is a fantastic add on to Chrome that has
revolutionized how my students are writing. It is also a great thing for ELLs,
Special Ed, or any students who may struggle with reading.
When I was going through school I saw the change from
overheads to projectors. I remember when my social studies teacher had the
projector on a cart we knew it was lecture day. He is the only teacher that I
vividly remembering using a projector, many teachers used the overhead for
notes. Even when I was at Eastern, professors were primarily using overhead
projectors for notes.
Abbey,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds to me like your district is taking a very level approach to technology integration. In my last placement, Promethean Boards were put in, I believe regardless of the teacher’s desire, and installed in such a way as to require the use by the teacher. Our whiteboard was essentially covered by the Promethean Board and we only had a bit of real estate on either side to use.
Do you have one of these boards in your classroom? Do you find it helpful or a struggle to use?
What technology would you like to have in your placement that you don’t currently have access to?
Jerry
Hi Jerry,
ReplyDeleteThey really are. It's very interesting to see. I agree the issue with Promethean Boards is the real estate they take up. I do not have a Promethean Board in my room. When I first started there I shared a room with another teacher who didn't want one. When he moved to another room, I opted not get one because there's a high probability of me switching classrooms. I really like the Promethean boards for interactive games for review, but honestly, the projector on the white board is enough for me.
I really wish I had a class set of iPads for my social studies students. Or any tablets really. I feel that those would be more useful to me rather than chromebooks that I currently am able to sign out. I think they offer a wide range of flexibility that could really change how my classroom is run.
Abbey,
DeleteI thinking about this today, Chromebooks or iPads. To be honest, I am a huge Apple fan but I really think that when it comes to both Apple and Google, they are giving us a product that is half-baked. What I mean by that is that they are so afraid of someone else getting the upper hand on the educational market that they are willing to provide us with a product package with many gaps or partial functionality. Chromebooks and iPads are limiting and empowering in their own ways.
What I would say about Chromebooks is that they are paperweights without the internet and most of the devices the district buy are under powered and limited in storage. As for iPads, there is a lack of uniform experience and they need to give us the ability to have multiple logins/accounts per device. There have been rumors of Apple working on roaming profiles. Which is similar to the way Chromebooks work in that you can sit down at one, login to Google, and you have access to everything on the new iPad that you did on your old iPad, without the need to restore.
I guess if I had to choose between a few years of partial functionality but increasing abilities to not being able to use them until they were perfect, I would choose to use them know and just complain about it.
I am not sure I would request a board either. At least until I was given training on ways to use it that I was certain I could integrate into my classroom.
Have a great weekend,
Jerry
Hi Abbey,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read about your experience with technology in your school, and I feel like I am in a similar situation. Similar to you, we have a few Chromebook carts and it seems like we are trying to move towards 1 to 1. However, that is quite the investment, and I am sure that my district is focused on spending the money wisely too.
I liked how you mentioned that your district makes sure that the person is going to use the technology before spending the money on it. I think this is a smart way to ease into the technology changes, and avoid paying tons of money for things that may not even be used. Furthermore, there are many things that may even go out of style (like smart boards seem to be doing) before a teacher starts using them, so you mine as well wait to pull the trigger if it is a situation like this.
I have yet to use the overheads either, as I have had access to projectors, but I can definitely remember them in my middle school.
What do you use the Google Read and Write for? I saw that you said it was great for E.L.L., do you think I could benefit from it while teaching a foreign language?
Jimmy
Hi Jimmy,
DeleteI use Google Read and Write in my English classes. I have the students listen to their papers so they can hear the simple mistakes. It will also read websites and documents to them, which is great for students who struggle with reading. I am not 100$ how to use for teaching a foreign language. I know there is a translate option. You could probably have it read something your students wrote back to them. In my district it is primarily used by the Special Education department and the English Department.
HI Abbey,
DeleteYour district appears to be driven by teacher desires for technology. This makes sense. Why give a teacher a piece of technology if they are not going to use it. The only negative I can think of would be some teachers may be hesitant to not move towards any newer technology if they are not being nudged in that direction. Have you seen this concept occur where teachers deny wanting ANY technology?
I could see Google Read and Write as being something fun to read a primary document in History in its original language and then translate the piece.
I am sure there is a hefty learning curve for all of this new technology being purchased for teachers. What kind of support is offered. Is it a tiered approach where teachers on various levels of tech integration can attend PD and get just what they need?
Mike
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Mike,
DeleteI have seen a few teachers express that they don't want to use technology or don't want to try new things. Most of these teacher are very close to retiring and do not see the needs to change what has always worked for them.
Tech support is available at each school via a tech liason. This is a teacher who has had training and if something comes up, we email/call her. I am not sure if they send teachers to PD for technology, I am new to the district this year.
Abbey,
ReplyDeleteHow does Google Read and Write enhance your students' work? It is interesting that you mention the district has money for technology, but uses it sparingly. From what I have seen, teachers in my placement district write grant proposals if they would like to add more technology to their classrooms. It seems that you have to be able to justify its use and also want it bad enough to go through the entire grant proposal process. Does your district have anything like that or is the request process relatively simple? I am curious about what Google Read and Write does to help your students' experiences reading and writing as I am in the English classroom. I would love anything that encourages students to increase literacy and motivate students to engage with texts.
-Lindsy
Hi Lindsy,
DeleteGoogle Read and Write has completely changed how my students write. I have them type their paper and then they listen to their writing. What this helps them with catching mistakes, like missing words, some run on sentences, and sentences that are written poorly. I had one student that has gone from writing papers that were almost incomprehensible to acceptable writing for an 8th grader.
In regards to how my district uses their money for technology, the teacher's are able to ask for what they would like and the building principal decides if he/she will ask for it from the district administration. At least that's been my impression. This is my first year here. When they use money for technology, they want to make sure it is practical and useful in the classroom.
Abbey,
DeleteI love having students listen to their own writing. We do not have access to Google Read and Write, but we do have students read their papers out loud to themselves, and we also have students work with a partner to read each others' papers. It works in a similar way. However, one of the major benefits of the technology is that it removes pressure or embarrassment, particularly for students who have anxiety about sharing their work. It would be exciting to watch a student excel as a result of a program such as Google Read and Write.
Lindsy,
DeleteGoogle Read and Write has a free version that works with Google Docs. So as long as students are typing the papers in Google Docs, you can use it. There are benefits to using the paid version, any websites can be read to your students and there are more options for translations I believe.
My students also read their papers to their peer editors, but Google Read and Write allows the students to work at their own pace, and they aren't using the excuse "my partner isn't done."
Thanks! I already sent my mentor teacher a message about Google Read and Write. I didn't realize there were free resources as well. I'll be looking into that this week.
DeleteCool. I learned something. Never got a chance to use Read and Write in my classroom. I'll have to check it out.
ReplyDelete