The new and improved 7th grade English room was finally finished and we could see the difference, windows looked clean and new, color of the room matched the interior design of the rest of the hall and more importantly there was a white board that with a flick of a button either lowered from the ceiling or disappeared back into the ceiling. Cool, we all thought. This was the new technology when I was 14. Yes I’m young enough to have gone to school after projectors died out and teachers used PowerPoint through computer networking. However, it wasn’t till I went back, now at 25, for my masters that I was informed that those white boards are now touch screens. Shocked and amazed. Curiosity lead me to an article on thejournal.com called ‘5 K-12 Technology trends for 2011’. This article was written by Bridget McCrea on 12/02/2010. The article highlights the five top movements in technology for 2011.
All of the advances touch on budget saving techniques and other cost effective avenues. The first 3 are technologies to better the student centered learning environments and the last two are upgrades for professional development. The article predicts more mobile devices, or other 1:1 implementations to increase 24/7 access to technology and “ubiquitous learning”. Another trend is an increase in web-based instruction. The author feels that an increase in online classes has already and will continue to save schools money while provided the student with more outlets to take advance classes, make up for missed credits and expand their interests. Automatic monitoring and assessment tools will amplify individualizing students. In turn, a teacher will learn the student strengths and weaknesses before it’s too late. Real time data collection will stop the delay of adjusting a teacher’s lesson plan. The cloud is the newest and most cost effective application. It does away with expensive hardware and soft wear and encourages collaboration between teachers, and available space. The last technology trend is an increase in technology available for teachers. Teachers must be able to keep up with the students and technology will make it easier. Technology will make professional development more accessible which is necessary for all teachers.
The article was both interesting and relevant for solving the constraints that teachers, students and school district face today. Technology has the ability to boost the school culture for the better.
Here is the link for the article http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/12/02/5-k12-technology-trends-for-2011.aspx
I, unlike you, never had technology in the classroom. The "coolest" thing we had was the overhead projector :) The 1:1 laptop implementations is a tough sell. The article went on to talk about making use of what they already have in the schools which cannot afford it. Most kids/families already have some sort of device--whether it be iphones/laptops/ipads--so if they could make use of those, only having to pay for minimal classroom technology it saves quite a bit of money. I know that there are classrooms now which allow the kids to text in their answers from their own phones--having only 5 extras available. I love this idea! It's scary for some to consider implementing this sort of thing, but it's providing the students a way to use their texting for "good". If you tell a child "no cookies", they are going to want them even more...and even find a way to sneak one. When you say, "you can have cookies after you eat dinner" then the child has a goal. The same should work with technology in the classroom. Really quick, I also noted the topic about the classroom "clickers," as we used in class that first night. There is a way now the kids can use their own cell phones (texting devices) in the same way. Sites like http://www.polleverywhere.com/ allows the students to text in answers without the use of those type of classroom clickers. I'm all about saving money wherever possible :) Thanks for sharing!
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