Walking into a technology-infused classroom one of the first things you notice is student engagement. This will not be a quiet classroom. Students are collaborating on projects and helping each other master creating podcasts, blogs, and wikis. The teacher is facilitating learning and helping by re-directing students to help them find the information they need to fit the assignment they are working on.
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When the teacher lectures, he or she uses student response systems, or clickers, to help gauge student understanding and participation while they are actively listening to the teacher. These lectures are not the teacher standing in front of the class, but using an interactive white board (IWB), also known as a Smartboard. Video clips or photos related to the subject will be shown to the students as well as key phrases and important facts. After the lecture students could be working on creating a timeline or using mind-mapping software to visually re-create the lecture. Other students may be using iPads to check out related videos or podcasts for further insight.
I could definitely see myself as the teacher in the above scenario. Currently, I am not in the classroom. I am hoping to be back with in the next two years either at the junior or senior high level. I predominately teach history and language arts. Using clickers would be a great assessment tool since the software that comes with most clickers can track student information in a discreet manner so that students only see how they do as a group rather than individually. Only the teacher receives the information as to who answered incorrectly. (Education Front, 2011) This anonymity can lead to more students participating since they don’t have to raise their hands and feel embarrassment if they answered wrong.
My ideal classroom would have a IWB, projector, camera, 10 iPads or other touch tablet filled with appropriate apps, and have access to laptops or a computer lab. Using all of these tools would create a technology rich classroom with tools students can use to create meaningful and worthwhile projects. I have certainly done quite well with only access to the computer lab in the past by creating e-sheets and Web Quests. Technology is a tool. I need to make sure that no matter what I have available to use, I know how to use it and incorporate the tools into my curricula. I still need to have lesson plans that show I’m implementing technology in a way that is relevant to student learning and not to just have because our district can afford it.
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ReferencesBeatty, I. (February, 2004). “Transforming student learning with classroom communication systems.” [Electronic Version] EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research Research Bulletin, 3,1-13.
Education Front. (April, 2011). Use clickers in the classroom to spur student response. Retrieved June 7, 2011 from http://4forefront.com/use-clickers-in-the-classroom-to-spur- student-response.htm.
Kelley, A. (March, 2011). Involve, prepare, apply, and develop: iPads in the classroom. Retrieved June 7, 2011 from http://techlearning.com/article/37704.
Stock, A. (September, 2009). Student response systems boosts scores. Retrieved June 6, 2011 from http://techlearning.com/article/23308.
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