All Things Education

Some technology stuff:

So I know many districts are either going to personal tablets/ laptops for students, or an open device policy (kids can bring their own devices to use).  There are many pros and cons between school provided devices and student provided devices. 

School provided vs. student provided:

School provided:                                       Student provided:                   

*Every student has a device                      some students have devices-

                                                                       some can’t afford devices

*School can regulate personal use            No regulation of content

*Everyone uses the same device and        different devices/ OS/ apps

       operating system/ apps etc.

*HUGE district expense                              little- no expense

*because of expense, devises are            (almost) Everyone can have a 

 often grandfathered in.                                   device day one.

Either way- there has to be intense technology training for teachers AND students. 

What systems do your districts use? What works and doesn’t?

School’s Out:

Time to think about year one:

1) students who’ve had the previous teacher will probably fight you at first- but that’s ok. You’ll win most of them over- the one’s you don’t, just keep working to make sure that they’re learning and not disrupting their students.

2) Things are going to go wrong. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad teacher, it’s just growing pains.

3) Class periods go by fast- plan carefully or you’ll run out of time.

4) by the same token, over plan or you’ll undoubtedly have 15 minutes to fill. 

5) If you find yourself with time to fill, that’s a good opportunity to revisit one of those tangent conversations that pop up. (My students are fond of old technology.)

6) Technology is great. If your students know how to use them. Don’t assume they’ve been trained.

7) “I don’t know how to do that” is often code for “I don’t feel like doing it” especially when it comes to using technology. When they say that, find out what they don’t know.

8) higher level thinking is the buzz word of the day. Higher level thinking questions are fantastic for class discussions, but they won’t fit into EVERY lesson- or you won’t be able to work in more than one. That’s ok- you can use days like that to build up to “deep conversations” (as some of my students call them) days where they can apply what you’ve covered.

9) Technology is great- but don’t become too reliant. There’s alot to be said for good old fashioned dry erase boards, or handwritten projects, etc. 

10) Have a back up plan. Technology tends to not work when you need it. (Especially if you’re using and Apple TV)

11) Middle students are going to talk. They have alot going on in their heads, they can’t always help it. If you have a particularly chatty group- plan LOTS of group work. They’ll get more work done, stay more focused, and not drive you crazy.

I’m sure I’ll think of more. Feel free to submit your own :-)

Watching an old concert DVD while I pack up my room. Nostalgia :)

*Gasp* Studies show that kids aren’t listening? And employers are complaining about it??? Shocking.

Sorry, that was really snarky- but after teaching 7th grade all year… it’s frustrating because kids CAN listen they just DON’T.  Because they don’t think they need to. as one of my students said:

“Can’t I just google it later? What’s the point of all this?”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming technology- I’m blaming our lack of technology education. Seriously- we need to educate kids from a young age (Like, soon as they start school) that technology is a TOOL not a CRUTCH. Because they don’t get the difference, and kids don’t want to learn anymore because “Can’t I just google it?”

It never fails, no matter how many times you say ‘I’m not conducting, so make sure your eyes are glued on me’ they stare off into space and wonder why they’re off.