ELLEN
BERG
Diary #7
Waiting for Technology
This week two gentlemen from our district's technology services visited my classroom to find out how I want my room set up for the computers and Smartboard I am getting in the next few months. With the assistance of my instructor, we figured out how to fit all the tables and computers in my tiny room while keeping both of my bookshelves.
I am very excited about the possibilities technology opens to us. We are receiving 14 brand new computers, one for me, and one for each pair of students, all networked and online. Additionally we are getting a Smartboard, a scanner, a digital camera and two printers.
The classes I attend every other Wednesday are preparing me to begin integrating technology into my lessons, and I find myself thinking often about how technology would enhance this lesson or that one as I do my planning. All is ready except the equipment.
Even so, having all of that technology at the fingertips brings on a new set of challenges along with the great possibilities. How do I successfully use technology as a tool, rather than as an add-on? How does technology fit in a reading and writing workshop? How do I help my principal understand that technology is not a cure-all? How do I help my students see technology as a tool rather than as a toy?I do not really have the answers to any of those questions as of yet, but hopefully, with time and practice, I will have a better idea by the end of this school year. What I am wondering now (and what I must solve before my lesson plans are due next Friday) is whether to put my next unit on hold to take advantage of our new computers.
My inquiry unit would be the perfect project
I wanted to do my inquiry unit next quarter because the other teachers on my team need our students to have a better understanding of posing questions, organizing information and writing effective reports.
The science teacher will be gearing up for science fair projects while the social studies teacher is involved in a special project where students research local history and write and produce a film that will be shown on our local cable access channel and at the history museum. I also see inference and prediction, skills we are working on currently, as leading naturally into questioning strategies.
While the need for the unit is now, I keep thinking about how much easier it would be if we had 14 computers available with the Internet, PowerPoint and Inspiration – rather than the four computers and limited access we have now.
The inquiry unit is the perfect project for a computerized classroom. During the unit, students choose a topic they are interested in, from jelly beans to Brittany Spears. They generate questions, research and refine their questions, cite references, and produce a product and present to the class. My students essentially become experts on some topic of their choosing, and because they are interested in their topics, it is fairly easy to teach them the tools of research.
What do I do? While the temptation to wait for all the new technology is tremendous, I will probably go ahead with the inquiry project next quarter. Student need and instructional timing is more important than the bells and whistles available later on this year.
If my students are to get the most out of their science and social studies projects, they will need the research skills they will learn in this unit. I will make do with what I have at the moment, though I am hoping the Smartboard will be installed in time for their presentations.
Whoever said technology made things easier did not know what they were talking about! More interesting, yes, but definitely not easier.
