Friday, April 13, 2007

Technology for Teachers - More Tappy Tappy, Less Walking!

A Little Something for the Disorganized:

Today I was filing collages while the kids were at lunch, when another kindergarten teacher came into the room...
"Come on over and take a look at the new computer thing that I learned about at the conference," she said.
"Ooooh! The use of technology in the classroom," I thought.
I headed right over to her room to find out what the computer thing was. The computer thing turned a new tool being tested out with a few of the teachers at the school. The first thing she showed us was that the software allowed her to enter information that someone would usually have to take to another part of the building by foot. The teacher marks whether a student is present or absent, or sends out the lunch order all from the comfort of her computer chair instead of walking around the school or asking her assistant to do so. The program also allows you to see the names and school photo of each child in the class, and allows those photos to be moved around the screen to create a seating chart. The teacher testing out the new program pointed out the fact that if a substitute came into the classroom for the first time, the kids couldn't sit in another seat or pretend to be another student, because the substitute would have their names, faces, and seat assignments right on the computer screen. The program even allows the teacher to click on a child's picture to bring up their parents' numbers, health information, emergency contact, etc. If there is an accident or a problem, the teacher no longer has to sort through note cards, files or papers, all she has to do is go to her computer and click.
I see a number of advantages to this software. First of all, every day the teacher's assistant in my classroom disappears for half an hour to bring the attendance sheet to the office, the lunch orders to the cafeteria and the library books to the library। With this new program, the teacher's assistant would not have to leave the room for half an hour, which would mean that the classroom would have two teachers in it for more time every day। In time, these minutes could really add up, and mean that more time could be devoted to small group lessons or one-on-one work with struggling students. It seems like something that could save time, and trees, in general, since things that we'd usually be fishing for in our desks or trying to wipe a coffee ring off of, would be organized for us on the computer, and I imagine that it could be expanded to help with other functions too, which could free up even more time for teaching the students instead of mucking about with other things.

Go Tappy Tappy on the Screen-a-ma-thing!

Yes, go tappy tappy, my friends. I recently had my very first experience with a Smart board, something that has existed for quite some time, but which I had had yet to see for myself। I was observing a third grade computer class learning about Malian mud cloths. The computer teacher had found an activity on the Smithsonian site that allows students to make their very own Malian mud cloth, learning about the process, the meanings of the patterns and placement in the cloth's design. She sat the kids down in front of the smart board and read to them from some websites, then went on to the activity. This was the part where I got really excited. She read the information on the screen, and then asked students to come up individually, tap on the board and make things happen. The students prepared the cloth, chose designs for different parts of the cloth, dyed the cloth, etc, all with their hands. It made it seem more like they were actually making a Malian mud cloth, because they were using their hands instead of a mouse. I instantly wanted my own Smart board, but the school only has one, and it stays in the computer lab. Still, I hope that one day, some wealthy benefactor will give one, because it was amazing to see how engaged the kids were when they had the chance to use this delightful piece of technology. It's brilliant!

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