I spend four hours a week in a second grade classroom. This semester I have learned a little bit more about special education and I have learned a large amount about assistive technology. With this new knowledge, the past couple of week I have been thinking about some new things while spending time with my second graders. I find myself coming up with many questions while I am teaching, helping, and observing the students as well as their teacher. Some of my questions are:
Why isn't there more technology available for these students?
Is there anyone here that knows how to use the technology that is available?
What should I do in my future classroom if I don't have much technology available?
And the question that I want to focus on purely because it gets the most rise out of me:
Why isn't the technology that is available in this classroom ever being used?
In this classroom there are three functioning desktop computers, books on tape (with headphones), Leap Frog reading books and the oldest one of all - an overhead projector. Does this class have as much technology as other classrooms I have spent time in? No. Some schools I have spent time in have laptops available, Smart Boards and more. However, what deeply troubles me is that none of what I listed above is ever being used. I used to wonder if the computers even worked until one day my CT asked me to Google something for her. I went to the computers to log on but low and behold there was a password to logon. Guess who didn't know the username or password? Yeah, you guessed it: the teacher of that classroom.
This really troubles me because she has such a valuable tool available. Not only does this computer offer things such as Microsoft Word for a student who would rather type or speak into the computer but this computer has something HUGE: the internet. I just don't understand why this tool is not being used for these students. There are a large number of students in this classroom that I know would benefit from some assistive technologies. I am at a real loss here. I decided to Google this topic and actually came to find many other people wondering the same thing. I also came across a couple websites with tips on encouraging teachers to use technology.
I guess I am really just wondering some of your thoughts. If anyone would like to offer me some insight here it would be greatly appreciated. Also, is there a way for me to address this question with this teacher without crossing any lines?
I think that a lot of the problem is that teachers don't have the time to work with the new technologies that are available to them. They have been doing their job for so long and learning something new would just take more time. I do think that it is crazy that teacher do not take advantage of these tools available to them. I wish I could help you out more. I just think if the teachers had an in serivce on the use of technology that it could be more useful.
I think a lot of teachers do not use the technology that is right in front of them because they do not know how to appropriately use it. For example before CEP 452, I would not have known to this extent how much technology can help students. I do not think it would be crossing any lines to talk to that teacher how she can use the technology in her classroom and how it can benefit specific students in her classroom because she most likely does not know about this stuff. You could ask her is she has ever thought of using technology in her classroom then you could say that you have been learning a lot about technology in one of your classes then like I said give her examples of how they would benefit the students!
In the classroom I'm in now for TE 401 I see the same thing, the technology they have isn't being used very much. I think part of of the reason for this, at least in my classroom, is that my teacher has been teaching for 11 years and is set in the way she does things. She is an excellent teacher and I have learned a lot from her, but she just has a certain way she goes about teaching the content that she needs to get through and that's how she does it. I think that teachers need more professional development to show them how to use these tools that they have and work together to develop lessons that incorporate the technology they already have. Another reason that I don't think the computers in my room and in my school don't get used is because they aren't always reliable. Sometimes the screens won't turn on, sometimes the sound won't come in, and so on. Teachers need reliable technology so that when they do plan a lesson involving computers they know that they will be available and in working order. Unfortunately at my school thats not always a given.
Gabs and I are in the same school for our TE 401 placement and I was surprised to hear about the lack of technology in her classroom. In my kindergarten classroom we have 2 computers, some leap frog readers, books on tape, and a smart board. I was wondering why there is such a difference in technology, more specifically why my classroom has a smart board and Gab's classroom only has a projector? My teacher does use this technology occasionally, but definitely not to its full potential. She uses the smart board for the morning message and math, but she could use it for so much more. She just received the smart board in her room this year so I'm hoping she will get more training and use this amazing tool more. I think using technology in the classroom is something that lacks not only in this school but in a lot of other classrooms I have been in as well. I think that there is just now becoming a push to use technology in the classroom and hopefully in years to come teachers will get more training so they can use the technology they do have to its fullest potential.
I think that a lot of the problem is that teachers don't have the time to work with the new technologies that are available to them. They have been doing their job for so long and learning something new would just take more time. I do think that it is crazy that teacher do not take advantage of these tools available to them. I wish I could help you out more. I just think if the teachers had an in serivce on the use of technology that it could be more useful.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of teachers do not use the technology that is right in front of them because they do not know how to appropriately use it. For example before CEP 452, I would not have known to this extent how much technology can help students. I do not think it would be crossing any lines to talk to that teacher how she can use the technology in her classroom and how it can benefit specific students in her classroom because she most likely does not know about this stuff. You could ask her is she has ever thought of using technology in her classroom then you could say that you have been learning a lot about technology in one of your classes then like I said give her examples of how they would benefit the students!
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom I'm in now for TE 401 I see the same thing, the technology they have isn't being used very much. I think part of of the reason for this, at least in my classroom, is that my teacher has been teaching for 11 years and is set in the way she does things. She is an excellent teacher and I have learned a lot from her, but she just has a certain way she goes about teaching the content that she needs to get through and that's how she does it. I think that teachers need more professional development to show them how to use these tools that they have and work together to develop lessons that incorporate the technology they already have. Another reason that I don't think the computers in my room and in my school don't get used is because they aren't always reliable. Sometimes the screens won't turn on, sometimes the sound won't come in, and so on. Teachers need reliable technology so that when they do plan a lesson involving computers they know that they will be available and in working order. Unfortunately at my school thats not always a given.
ReplyDeleteGabs and I are in the same school for our TE 401 placement and I was surprised to hear about the lack of technology in her classroom. In my kindergarten classroom we have 2 computers, some leap frog readers, books on tape, and a smart board. I was wondering why there is such a difference in technology, more specifically why my classroom has a smart board and Gab's classroom only has a projector? My teacher does use this technology occasionally, but definitely not to its full potential. She uses the smart board for the morning message and math, but she could use it for so much more. She just received the smart board in her room this year so I'm hoping she will get more training and use this amazing tool more. I think using technology in the classroom is something that lacks not only in this school but in a lot of other classrooms I have been in as well. I think that there is just now becoming a push to use technology in the classroom and hopefully in years to come teachers will get more training so they can use the technology they do have to its fullest potential.
ReplyDelete