It is amazing how much
technology has changed in the 21st century. Not only has technology
changed drastically since I was in school, but it has changed immensely since
my student teaching in 2008. The technology courses I was teaching were based
around Microsoft Office only. Students simply sat at their desks and worked out
of a textbook or learned keyboarding.
The classroom today
has completely greatly evolved from textbook only courses. As it mentioned in “Literacy
2.0,” technology has made its way into the core classes as well. Technology is
no longer reserved for the elective courses. It’s amazing to see how much
collaboration and communication is going on in the classroom. Students can
choose from a variety of devices and programs to find one to fit their personal
needs. I have laptops and iPads in my classroom. I also allow students to bring
their own devices, which allows students to mostly use their phones. There is an
endless amount of apps that can be used on a smartphone. Presentations take on
a whole new meaning. Power Point is no longer the only option that can be used.
Students can select from a variety of programs!
I have now started screen
casting all of my lessons for my 8th grade classes. Since I have
such a wide variety of students, it allows them to work at their own pace. I
even create extra lessons for students who are fast workers. It has transformed
my classroom.
I plan to keep
adapting from literacy 1.0 to literacy 2.0 little by little to continue to keep
my classroom on pace with current trends.
Frey, N., Fisher, D., &
Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: Reading and writing in 21st century
classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
I agree with you that classrooms have evolved greatly over the past several years in the area of technology. When I began my college education in 2003 there was no such thing as online classes and now we are able to earn an entire degree online. Other things that have changed in the area of classroom learning is the eTextbook options or the options to rent textbooks. Although I am not sure how I feel about eTextbook because I like to be able to flip back through my pages quickly to find what I am looking for, but I also like the fact that I can carry around my iPad that has my textbook on it. I also remember only learning Microsoft Office in my technology courses.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! I love what you have brought into your classroom by allowing students to use what they are comfortable with. We need to be aware that if students are using the tools on their own phones, they will enjoy learning that much more if we incorporate that into our lessons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the way of teaching has evolved. I also love the fact that you screen case your lessons, I would love to hear more about that and how your students are responding to your lessons. I agree that we as educators need to be aware of the needs of our students and not do what has always been done. I am taking this course for that reason. I am proud of you for taking the steps to help encourage all of your students at every level in your classroom.
Kim,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you are screencasting your lessons. Screencasting has powerful implications for differentiation, individualized learning, and personalized learning. Screencasting is now something that all teachers must know how to do in order to be considered literate. I have seen such a surge in screencasting in schools the last few years. I attribute much of the interest in screencasting to the flipped classroom movement.
Dr. Dell