Tips by Tony

1 | Jerrid Kruse

April 28th, 2009 at 9:38 am

I agree that we do need to use technology for more than just making traditional instruction “flashy”, but you don’t need technology to do any of the things mentioned – a classroom can be collaborative, student-centered and creative with no technology other than verbal language if the teacher knows what they are doing.

2 | Tony

April 28th, 2009 at 9:45 am

@Jerrid Kruse -

Absolutely. No technology necessary. But when you already *have* the technology, it would be nice to utilize it in more effective ways. Too many “smart boards” going to waste because the training to connect the technology to the teaching is often missing. Same for computers, iPods, cellphones…

3 | Christy

April 29th, 2009 at 10:27 am

Here is the bigger problem: how do we get our organization to embrace the idea that we need to expect that students will be using this technology to learn? Once we stop making excuses for students who don’t have access, then we can move forward with creating a learning environment that embraces technology for both students and teachers.

4 | Tony

April 29th, 2009 at 11:53 am

@Christy –
I hate the excuses. Just talk to Vicki Davis – she teaches in rural Georgia, many of her students don’t have access to broadband, yet she has one of the most technology enabled classrooms in the country. How? Find solutions instead of hiding behind excuses.

5 | Suzanne

April 29th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

The students already know and use the technology. I don’t think we impress them with it. I think we impress them more with our enthusiasm and love of learning.