First Graders Can Too

My first grade students might be small but they enter my classroom with a collection of experiences with technology. Whether or not I like it, they have expectations to use and learn from different digital technologies. Does it have to be complex lessons or in-depth opportunities? Not necessarily, the boys and girls want the chance to dabble in something that will keep their interest and allow them to gain valuable experiences.

My challenge is to integrate digital technology in my classroom that supports the national core standards and county curriculum. Fortunately, I am taking graduate level courses which are opening my eyes to new technology ventures that are benefitting me greatly. Last spring, I was enrolled in a literature course. One of the class projects was a digital storytelling presentation. I used Microsoft PowerPoint to create a clip art presentation of Hooway for Wodney Wat, a children's picture book about a rat who wins the approval of his classmates, by Helen Lester. My first grade students were so excited to see this interactive presentation. They wanted to re-read the story over and over on the classroom Activboard. I was able to see how important this new form of media is to my future and my students as well.

I am currently taking a graduate class about the Fundamentals of Technology for Educators. The professor has introduced me to effectively using a blog on the internet, locating helpful web sites geared towards my grade level or the teaching profession, and even experimenting with digital storytelling by using a Prezi program. By creating the Prezi, I can see how this new technology can be integrated in my classroom.

I could use Prezi to create a class story with ideas provided by the students. The class would have input in choosing the background and the sequence of events in the story. Another idea is to use the program to create interactive thinking maps about different concepts (Martin Luther King, Jr., George Washington, types of matter, living and nonliving things, etc.). The more comfortable that I become with creating digital storytelling and integrating it in my instruction then the more opportunities that I will discover in order to allow my students to do so as well.

The Activboard is hanging in my classroom, I'm acquiring more and more technology knowledge and experiences, and I have tech-savy students. It's time to step up and make digital integration adjustments to my teaching. I know that it's not going to be an easy process but something tells me that 18 little first graders will hold my hand on this exciting, interactive journey into the future of education.

Digital Storytelling Prezi

http://prezi.com/py5y5jjjcm6o/how-will-digital-storytelling-benefit-my-class/

Learning The Hard Way

As a teacher, you always have that little voice that reminds you to do certain things. Don't forget to make copies of the math worksheet. You have a staff meeting on Wednesday. Sam needs to take his time when writing out his spelling words. Be sure to backup your files!

Wait a minute! I've heard that voice before. Oh, yeah! It's telling me to backup my files because you never know what can happen to your hard drive. Six months ago, the little voice reminded me. I sit here six months later regretting tuning out that voice and paying the ultimate price. The two scariest words in computer lingo "fatal error." I went from having a fully functional hard drive to having two Trojan viruses that stormed all over my files. If I had only listened, then I wouldn't be recalling that fateful night.

I lost school lesson plans, class newsletters, personal files and photos. Each week, I re-type my lesson plans for the week and think of how much easier it would be to simply update my plans from last year's. Then, I re-create my newsletter and remember how easy it was to copy and paste from the previous school year. Be sure to backup your files!

I learned my lesson the hard way and have a collection of flash drives. I make sure to save anything that I do in two places. I have a flash drive for my master's degree documents, one for my personal files, and one for my teaching files. Like a good teacher instructs his or her students to learn from their mistakes, I have learned from my big one. When the little voice speaks to me, I make sure to listen!