I am a Grade 6 teacher at Ecole W.S. Hawrylak School, and while I do love to use technology in my classroom and have been doing so for quite a few years, I do not profess to be an expert. I do have considerable experience though (some good and some bad), so if I can help someone to get started or to try to 'avoid some of the bumps' I have encountered over the years, I would be more than willing to share. My philosophy is that in today's world 'technology is the kids' world, and I am the one who has to change to fit in.' I can't teach the way I was taught! :-) Fortunately for me, I love technology!
In this blog I have given a few suggestions/tips on things that have worked for me, and I have listed just a tiny sample of things/ways I use technology in my classroom. I do not want to overwhelm anyone, but I hope to get you at least a bit excited to get going this year with beginning to use technology or to expand your use of technology in your Middle Years Classroom.
Under the blog posts, you will find a review of some sites/apps I have found useful in my classroom (EdShelf), and I have just recently added a Widget underneath that will change weekly with some awesome ideas from Teachers First, a site I get tons of ideas from each week. I hope you do, too.
If I can be of any further support, please feel free to contact me.
jann.porritt@rbe.sk.ca
Have some fun with technology,
Jann Porritt
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
My Guidelines for Tech in the Classroom
1. Don't try to 'control' the students. Engage them, and you will have them 'eating out of your hands.' :-) Set guidelines, but don't take technology away as a punishment.
2. Start small, and then build, but do remember to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
3. Give yourself permission to 'fail.' Every experience is a learning experience - a project may fail, but learning has taken place - what did you/your students learn?
4. You don't have to be the expert. Let the students become the experts in their own areas. Your class will soon be full of experts. A common comment coming from me in the classroom when a student ask me for help with their technology is, 'I don't know. Room 205, who is an (app/site/etc.) expert?'
5. Let the students have choice and you will be 'wowed' with their creativity. Start with the outcomes and let the students choose how they will show their learning.
Suggestions that have worked for me:
1. When signing up for class sites, always use the same login and password, so everyone can remember.
2. When having students sign up for their own sites, have parental permission. I send a 'permission note' home in September that gives me permission to have them sign up for an email address, a Dropbox and any educational site I deem appropriate. I also have the parents give me permission to turn everything over to the students when they leave my class.
3. When having students create an email account, have them use the same guidelines. ie. studentnamelastinitialroom#@gmail(hotmail).com - johns205@gmail.com Give them their password and have them use it for email and ALL sites they sign up for. In this way, I have access to their accounts at all times. At the end of the year, I have them change their passwords.
2. Start small, and then build, but do remember to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
3. Give yourself permission to 'fail.' Every experience is a learning experience - a project may fail, but learning has taken place - what did you/your students learn?
4. You don't have to be the expert. Let the students become the experts in their own areas. Your class will soon be full of experts. A common comment coming from me in the classroom when a student ask me for help with their technology is, 'I don't know. Room 205, who is an (app/site/etc.) expert?'
5. Let the students have choice and you will be 'wowed' with their creativity. Start with the outcomes and let the students choose how they will show their learning.
Suggestions that have worked for me:
1. When signing up for class sites, always use the same login and password, so everyone can remember.
2. When having students sign up for their own sites, have parental permission. I send a 'permission note' home in September that gives me permission to have them sign up for an email address, a Dropbox and any educational site I deem appropriate. I also have the parents give me permission to turn everything over to the students when they leave my class.
3. When having students create an email account, have them use the same guidelines. ie. studentnamelastinitialroom#@gmail(hotmail).com - johns205@gmail.com Give them their password and have them use it for email and ALL sites they sign up for. In this way, I have access to their accounts at all times. At the end of the year, I have them change their passwords.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Apps/Sites for Middle Years Classroom
Here are some apps/sites I use in my Grade 6 classroom. Click on the icon and you will be taken to a page that will give you more information (descriptions, reviews, pricing, collections). I hope you find something useful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)