An enhancement? Definitely! Kids love technology, I mean some of them know more about computers and how all this 'technological stuff'' works better than their parents do. I think if we can find ways to engage the students into their learning through the use of technology, we should!
An advancement? Yes! The grade two classroom at St. Charles where I am doing my student teaching is fortunate enough to have a smart board. This blog entry got me questioning the smart board and using technology in my lessons, so I decided to ask my teacher about it. The first question she asked me was "Do you know how to use smart?" Of coarse I told her that I was learning it in the program this semester and her response was only positive. She explained how she incorporates smart into almost everything she does including lessons that include shapes and charts, checking the daily weather, and writing on the notebook rather than on the white board. She described it as "One Big Tool" that helps her keep the kids concentrated and interested. Watching her use the smart board and using educational videos and such, has truly encouraged me to incorporate technology into teaching. I wont lie, it sometimes feels overwhelming because of all things the 'smart board' can do, but I see how it engages the children, and it is for them that I will be working for!
A distraction? If you make it one. One thing that my mentor teacher taught me was not to get caught up with how 'pretty' your lessons look. Of coarse you do want to make it stimulating for the students, but teachers can sometimes get carried away with the fine details of them. I think that if our focus goes to much into what it looks like, we get distracted of what we are teaching in the first place. We are there to teach whats in the program of studies, not 'prettiness'. I think that we need to remember that technology is a tool that we should use to assist us to be the best teacher we can be.
Do I think technology is a good things to incorporate into education? Yes.
I am still apprehensive in using it? Yes.
Am I going to look beyond that and do it for my students in order to keep their best educational interest in mind? Yes!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment