Tech 101: Module 6

I'm not currently using much technology in my classroom. I have a SmartBoard and my computer, but we rarely use anything else. We have computer labs, but they are very difficult to book, especially since most of our standardized testing is done online now. However, we are going to 1:1 next year. I think that teaching students to learn using the 1:1 technology will be a huge challenge. They will have to become familiar with the device and new procedures. I think that overcoming the novelty of the devices will be our first challenge. Once we overcome that, I see the biggest goal of teaching students to learn with technology is teaching them how to locate and identify useful information. If they can do that, they can do anything.

I'm really not sure how to address the question of how to show understanding without explicit requirements. I think that there will need to be requirements in the beginning. Going from lots of structure to no structure would be a disaster, I think. I would love some insight into how students show what they have learned without specific requirements.

Tech 101: Module 5

When we use technology in my classroom, right now, we are in the Control by Authority stage. Whenever I give instructions or provide new information I typically have my students turn their monitors off. I agree that this method tends to portray technology as problematic, but my students, as a whole, do not have a lot of technology experience. They have not really been trained on how to keep their attention while using the technology. I do believe that it is possible for students to reach the self-control stage, but they have to taught the proper expectations. When you are only visiting the computer lab on occasion, it is very difficult to demonstrate the proper behavior. Repetition is really the best way I have found to obtain the desired behavioral expectations, so in a 1:1 classroom, where the technology is a part of the daily procedure I think it would easier to demonstrate the desired behaviors.