Don't Assume That They Know

     After reading a number of articles about how advanced and technologically prepared our students are upon entering our classroom, a teacher needs to see this evidence firsthand. Case in point, my first grade class in the media center computer lab for the first time. I have one student who signs onto the computer with his 10-digit user name and dances across the keyboard entering his eight-digit password. He clicks the icon and lickty split has his numbers entered into the program. Headphones are on and he's right into the activities.
    
     What a great year this is going to be in the computer lab! All of my six-year old students are tech-savvy and will not be bellowing out my name in the supposedly quiet media center. And then I hear "Mr. Hernan, I need help!" The silence is golden aura has been broken. This student has somehow managed to tap into the error message capital. He has six different error message boxes open. The young lad is looking at me as if he was caught breaking into the National Mint and was about to wire funds to his offshore account. After 10 minutes of closing windows and rebooting the computer as well as a brief discussion about letting me know about a problem a bit sooner, he was working in Imagination Station.
 
     It's time to make a lap around the two rows of computers to see my class hard at work. Until I pass a sweet little girl who is hardly working. She is sitting up straight in her chair and has her information card next to the keyboard. She is staring at a black computer monitor. I quietly ask her why she isn't on the computer. Her response was "it's not turned on." I calmly return with a question about why she hasn't turned it on. At which point she shares with me that she doesn't know how to turn the computer on. I use a very calm and steady pointer finger to slowly approach the black button in the center of the tower. I press the button and magically the screen jumps into action.

     I realize now that I'm not batting a thousand with this class in regards to technology. Mental note to self includes a whole group lesson on the computer basics from signing in to signing out in the computer lab. I assumed that they knew how to handle the computer and the necessary steps to successfully launch a learning experience in the virtual world. I was wrong and not for the first time either. Long story short the second visit to the computer lab was much better than the first.


photo retrieved from: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=kid%20on%20computer&ctt=1#mt:2|

A Tough Answer For Teachers

Are we doing what is best for our students or are we doing what is most convenient for us?

This is a very loaded question from Dr. McLeod's blog posting. I keep thinking about the teacher assessments that are being implemented this school year throughout the state. Are teachers going to do what is best for their students which will enhance their learning opportunties and result in better test results? Or are teachers going to resort to teaching in their convenient style to weather the storm of being evaluated?

In previous years, teachers might decide to take the plunge and integrate technology into their lessons and allow the technology savy students to gain hands-on opportunities. Teachers could attend professional development workshops or take online trainings to see and interact with the various advancements. They would return with the excitement to start the school year with a fresh approach to instruct this year's digital kids. Even take the approach of learning from the students while using these different forms of technology. At the end of the year, the teachers would look back and see that the journey was well worth the investment.

Now to the 2011-12 school year. A teacher is faced with a 3% contribution to the Florida Retirement System. Counties have continued to increase insurance contributions as well. As if that is not enough on the plate, you add a brand new teacher evaluation system. Teachers are facing a very scary and uncertain 10-month school year. The phrase "resorting to old reliable" might seem to be the anthem for this year. Teachers who utilize technology will continue to have it as a vital piece in their daily puzzle. Unfortunately, veteran teachers with little or no technology experience will most likely stick to the teaching that has worked for them over the years. Especially, when the teachers know that their principals will be visiting the classrooms with iPads in hand. It seems that this year teachers might need to do what is best for them.