Jul

20

I’ve learned it’s OK for teachers and students to learn to use the new digital technology together

Filed Under Blogging in and out of the Classroom, Dealing With Stress, The Way I See It | 3 Comments 

 
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I’ve learned it’s OK for students and teachers to learn to use the new digital technology  together in the classroom.   This past semester, I learned  from my students, and my student learned  from me.    I got  all kinds of positive feedback from students and parents for what  were doing in the classroom. It was amazing.

I started to think again  about my experience using technology in the classroom this past semester after reading  Chris Wood’s comment in response to David Adams post on teachers and the new technology. Chris wrote

Many teachers hailing from the traditional school of thought may be more reluctant than their more contemporary counterparts to introduce and use technological tools for education purposes in their classrooms. This can cause a problem when a mandate is passed down through a school district, requiring the incorporation of a technological tool (i.e. Smartboard). In a perfect world, the technology would be introduced only after the teacher has had sufficient training in not only the use of the technology, but also the upkeep and troubleshooting of the technology. The problem that I see developing is a reluctance on the part of these more traditional teachers to learn the new technology, making its use in the classroom a futile attempt at education.

As educators, it is our obligation to ensure that we stay informed on the different kinds of technology available to us and our students, as well as, when implemented, are fully cognizant of the tools functions and workings. When time is wasted on the upkeep of technology, time is wasted, and in our current classroom situations, we cannot afford any wasted time.

How did I cope with learning to use new digital technology in the classroom?  Actually it wasn’t that hard .  I just asked my students to help me.  I’d been blogging and podcasting for about a year and a half so I felt confidant about introducing the new class blog,  but I knew  there’d be lots of new stuff coming on line all the time that of course I wouldn’t be familiar with.  I knew I wouldn’t have time to  learn to be an expert in using all of it, so I decided to take a deep breath and take the plunge.

I told my students at the beginning of the semester that there was some new cool technology that we’d be using in class and that  since it was so new , I was just learning how to use it and sometimes I might need their help. They were OK with that. I was OK with that. I told them that teachers are life long learners and just because I’d  been teaching for more than 20 years didn’t mean I know it all. I’m always learning.

My students were very accepting of the fact that I didn’t have the technology down pat , and  because I was upfront and honest about what I was trying to do, I didn’t lose their respect.  On the contrary, as time went on   they respected me more and more for what I was trying to do and told  me they wished more teachers would teach using the new digital technology.  No one complained  that I didn’t know what I was doing.  They just helped when I asked for help and even sometimes when I didn’t ask for help. They’d just jump in whenever.

My grade 11/12 classes absolutely loved using the class blog because they were comfortable working on the computer and trying new things. If we ran into problems during class time, and we did,  I simply asked the students to complete the  work at home. It wasn’t a problem.

I never felt I was wasting time.  It’s all about quality not quantity.  It’s all about collaborative learning. It’s all about working together and problem solving- important skills in the real world, and  it’s all about showing students that  I’m a life long learner and probably they probably will be too. I’m looking forward to next semester to see what we can learn together.

Jul

13

Just thinking about teaching the first day of the new school year can be very stressful

Filed Under Dealing With Stress, Uncategorized | 3 Comments 

There are lots of things about teaching that are stressful. Even thinking about teaching can be very stressful- especially thinking about  teaching that first day of school in September.   It’s the not knowing that used to get  me.  Fortunately, I’ve learned how to deal with that stress so that I don’t ruin my summer worrying about what’s going to happen when school starts again.

One of the things that I used to find very stressful was not knowing what the kids were going to be like  and expecting the worst.  I worried about having kids in my class that would amuse themselves at my expense and  that  every class this year was going to be the class from hell.

Now,  I remind myself that  students  are probably just as worried as I am about the first day of school. They’re  probably wondering if they’re going to get the teacher from hell.   The beginning of school is a very stressful time for everyone.

The other thing I remind myself is that I can establish a positive class environment where I can feel safe and where my students can  feel safe.  So, I don’t need to worry.  One of the first things I do is have the class come up with rules for behaviour, except I don’t call them rules.  I call them agreements.

I don’t use the word rules for a couple of reasons.  First some kids hate rules.  The very word “rules” acts like a red flag and challenges some kids  to see which rules they can break  and how often.  I’ve found the word “agreement” doesn’t elicit the same response.  I know it may seem like it’s just semantics but you know,  the choice of words does make a difference.  A rule is kind of top down while an agreement is more grassroots, if you will.  It’s not me foisting something on them,  but us coming up with something together.

We only have four basic agreements. I believe in the KISS principle. These four agreements  pretty well cover  everything when you think about it.  They are mutual respect/no put downs, appreciation, attentive listening, and the right not to participate on occasion. I’ve discussed the process of how we  develop our agreements  here before so I won’t go into it again. If you click on the link and go to my earlier post in section B , you’ll see that I have laid it out so that you can do the same thing if you wish.  I even made up a short slide presentation illustrating our class agreements that  your welcome to use.

Just thinking that the classroom agreements will be established reduces my stress.  A classroom where mutual respect/no put downs, attentive listening, appreciation and the right not to participate on occasion is the kind of classsroom where I want to be and the students want to be.  There is no hell in a classroom like that.

 
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Jul

11

High cost of gas is driving students to take on-line courses

Filed Under The Way I See It | 1 Comment 


Photo by Cyfer13. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0

Registration for on-line courses has increased 35% to 114% this past year.  With gas costing more than $4.00 a gallon,  more  and more students are opting  to take on-line courses to try to save money.  Even though many students prefer the campus experience,  many feel  have little choice. The cost of gasoline can be as much as 50% of the cost of tuition. Basically for some students, what it boils down to is taking  courses on-line or not at all.

While taking courses on-line  enables  students to get around the high cost of gas,  there are still some  problems.   Not  all courses are offered on-line.  Only a small fraction are and manyof those  have waiting lists.  Education institutions are having to train new staff as quickly as possible to meet the new demand.

The other problem for students hoping to take on line courses is that in some places like rural areas the high speed internet connections that on-line courses require is not available.  Then, it becomes a question of equity.

I wonder if high speed internet access is going to be considered a common good and just like access to electricity in an earlier day,  there will be a political will to make it available to everywhere everywhere. Maybe it’s a case of when big business is ready, the internet will come.  I try not to be too cynical,  but at my age it’s hard.

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