Tuesday, September 22, 2009

September 22

Ah, fall is coming. That means Back to School Night and Parent teacher conferences. Back to School Night was last week, and I had a record turnout...53 parents (at least four times more than I have ever had before)...So the "great leader" (Superintendent) stops by the classroom. Despite the fact that I have put the SMART board to use everyday, I did not have it turned on for Back to School Night. Of course she notices, reminds me of how fantastic the SMART board is (darn, I forgot to bow down and remind her of her greatness for approving the purchase of a piece of technology that I have been waiting for for two years), and then mentions that other teachers have theirs turned on (I tried to do something more personal, like communicate with parents). Well, you never have seen a person get the board and his computer turned on so quickly to show off the Powerpoint presentation the class had used earlier in the day. All was right with the world again.

The latest challenge is to find at least one new trick a week that the SMART board can do. This week was embedding a link to a video on the internet into the presentation on notes. Great, success... it was actually quite easy and the class took a break from taking notes to watch a quick introductory video on Mesopotamia. Coming soon to a sixth grade classroom far from you...an interactive game where students can put the board to use.

Happy Technology Use!!!

1 comment:

  1. Another Pioneer!
    It sounds like you are really experimenting with technology and applying it with your students in a meaningful way. It is often challenging as there are far more "settlers" than there are "pioneers" out there in education using technology, as Chris Dede, in Six Challenges for Educational Technology, termed technology users.
    Dede wrote that "“pioneers”:(are) people who see continuous change and growth as an integral part of their profession and who are willing to swim against the tide of conventional operating procedures—often at considerable personal cost.
    I took this to mean that taking risks and chances, stepping out of the norm, like you did; and that settlers are "people who appreciate stability and do not want heroic efforts to become an everyday requirement" (Dede).
    I took this to mean the bulk of educators out here overwhelmed, overworked and stretched to the limits to do what they are doing and are hesitant to add something new.
    Dede says these educators "must be convinced to make the leap to a different mode of professional activity—with the understanding that, once they have mastered these new approaches, their daily work will be sustainable without extraordinary exertion."

    Keep the pioneering up!

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