Friday, July 10, 2009
Technology in the Classroom
My ideal classroom would be fully equipped with all the technological devices I might use during the course of the year to teach English Lit. I'd like to have a projector attached to the ceiling and connected to a main computer at my desk for easy showing of DVDs. We all know students learn in a variety of ways, and including visuals to match the lesson plans will help students retain new knowledge. I'd also like to have computer stations with printer along one side of the classroom for easy access to research that students can do in groups at a time. Having a lap-top friendly room with outlets available near all desks or tables would also be ideal, provided students can afford their own lap-tops. I've mainly used films/documentaries to go along with the literature I've assigned in the past, but I look forward to learning more about the many uses of technology beyond that.
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You've got some really interesting ideas for implementing technology in your classroom. However, it seems like some of this technology would only be available in affluent communities.
ReplyDeleteSam makes a good point, although schools are moving more and more in the direction of portable "laptop labs" for classroom use. It will be very interesting to see if the kind of simple web access machines that have been designed for the One Laptop per Child initiative will start showing up in US schools.
ReplyDeleteHey Lara,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my blog and I'm truly sorry that we were unable to meet you in person last week, when my students and I were in Detroit.
Good thoughts on a technologically advanced English classroom! As a teacher who works in one of the poorest congressional districts in the country, I wanted to challenge you to think about how you would make technology work if you did not have access to the tech-savvy classroom you're describing. What can you do if students can't afford their own laptops? How can you expose them to media if you don't have a smartboard and LCD projector?
Making the transition from MAC to my job was so difficult, because I knew so much about the technology possibilities that were OUT THERE, but my students don't all have computers at home (or internet access) and didn't all have the skills to use computers when I got them into the lab to work... so sometimes I had to start from scratch, and get real creative with how to make technology a part of my classroom... with horribly slow and out-of-date computers, a computer lab that was overbooked and hard to schedule and nothing but an overhead projector. Don't forget about older technology, too... CD players and TVs are sometimes what you have to work with, you know?
Also, as I'm sure Liz has mentioned... cell phones are an excellent way to use technology (for homework in particular, ha), as are capitalizing on students' obsessions with AIM, facebook and myspace. Turning what they already use into a learning experience not only hooks them on the technology tip, but can be very effective in getting your content across to them.
Be well!
xo
Lauren