Blog #1 - Beginning of the Fall 2023 Semester

Previous educational technology experience:

Throughout my past field experiences and volunteer work in classrooms, I have become more familiar with different types of technology within classrooms and how they can be used to benefit the students and teachers. I have become very familiar with technology such as SMART boards, document cameras, Ipads, laptops and desktop computers. My first year of field experience, my mentor teacher did everything on her SMART board. This allowed me to increase my knowledge on SMART boards and how they can benefit students learning. I found that students were more engaged when completing an activity on the SMART board rather than on the white board. I also discovered that they also benefit the teacher significantly. My mentor teacher was able to pull up all different kinds of materials on her board such as a notepad, google slides, google and youtube. Last year, my mentor teacher did not use the Smart board as much. However, when she did, she often used it with a document camera.  This technology was very beneficial for reading stories to the class or showing examples of students work. Due to some of my high school experience being online because of Covid, I have become very comfortable using devices such as my laptop or Ipad. 

Technology in my year 3 practicum: 

During my short time in my practicum class, I have observed a couple different types of technology used within the class on a daily basis. The most commonly used device is the classroom SMART board. My mentor teacher uses the board to teach lessons, listen to stories, watch videos, show examples of students work and complete brain breaks for the students. I believe this device is very beneficial for the class as it allows all students in the class to see the board and it is very accessible for my mentor teacher to use. She no longer has to go out and buy expensive books because she can search one up on youtube and play it for the students to listen to. The past two days, my mentor teacher has used the smart board to review short vowels with her students. First they will write the letter down on the whiteboard, then they will brain storm words that start with that sound. The class also used the SMART board to read a story. This allowed my mentor teacher to pause the story when she chooses to ask the students comprehension enhancing questions. Using the board also allowed for each student in the classroom to see the pictures in within the book. Another type of technology that is used in my practicum class is a document camera. Although I have not seen my mentor teacher use the device, she explained to me that it is used to show students work and pictures in books.

Burning question and why it is important me:

One question I have about the use of technology in classrooms is, is there a time when you would want students to use hands on materials like writing a story instead of typing it, reading a book instead of listening to one, or playing math games with a dice and cards instead of playing them on an ipad. This question is important to me as I have noticed a lot of students who struggle to maintain engaged with an activity when it does not involve technology. I also often wonder if students' abilities to write and read are decreasing because of the use of technology. I have never been a strong reader and whenever I get the chance to listen to something instead of reading it, I choose listening every time. If I were forced to read more, would that make me a better reader? If students weren't given the option to type on computers or listen to stories on an device, would it increase their abilities to read and write?