The biggest challenge I have when it comes to achieving my goals that I set in my GAME plan is to overcome the scarcity of resources. I work in an urban school district and unfortunately we do not have the same resources as other schools. For instance we have 2 computer labs, but a teacher cannot take their classes there because computer classes are being taught there all day. We also have computers in the library, but there is only 20 computers, so a full class cannot access the computers. We also have a lap top cart but it is dominated by the Math classes who use the computers for software that was recently purchased to assist students to pass the standardized test we have in our state. As a district who is suffering from low test grades, our main concentration has become making our students proficient and teaching for a test rather than encouraging creativity.
Since I am in the History department, I have little access to the technology because Math and English have priority to the computers, so I have to think creatively when I want to infuse technology. For instance, I have 4 students computers in my room, so many times I have students work in groups of 3-4 and 1 group member can access the computer at a time while other are working with other resources such as texts or books I have prepared for them ahead of time to address the project we need to research. For the most part I used the computer as a mind tool. Dr. Cennamo explains that “Mindtools are computer applications that enable learners to represent, manipulate, or reflect on what they know rather than reproduce what someone else knows (Cennamo,2009).” I also take my students to the library but pair them up so there are enough computers for everyone and they both have some computer access.
To truly fulfill my goal, I need to address the scarcity of computers and present the problem to my colleagues, so we may come up with a resolution. I understand the importance of using software to reinforce mathematics skills taught in the classroom, but the other subjects cannot fall to the waist side. We do have small budgets allotted to our academy from our district, so I believe we could make a change by purchasing some less expensive desktop computers rather than lab tops and allot a room for an additional lab where teachers can sign in their classes If our budget is not enough, we could run a fundraiser or have dances to raise the additional money. Another problem that we do incur is that we do not have a full time teacher to run the lab and ensure that the computers do not get damaged. For this we can schedule teachers to have a duty in this room rather than hall duty, to make sure that students are using the computers appropriately.
In conclusion, knowledge of technology in my school district is not the main problem but rather access is our road block. As per Cennamo, “ the primary roles that a computer can serve are: computers as a tutor, computers as a mind tool, and a computer for a support for reflection and conversation (Cennamo, 2009). Educators in my school district must come together to resolve this problem and allow our students to learn through technology and both test scores and grades will be positively affected.
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
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It seems that you have several road blocks in your way when it comes to incorporating technology in the classroom. Some things that I wonder are, what grade level do you teach and do students have access to computers outside of school? While I teach lower elementary I find it fascinating that the majority of my students have access to the internet at home. I have prepared activities accessible through our classroom blog that the students can complete from there. If the local library has computers, some students are willing to go there and use them after school for assignments. Even though you have only four computers in the classroom, “the activities that you plan will benefit from the collaboration that occurs when students work in small groups” (Cennamo, Ross, Ertmer, pg. 90. 2009). I might also approach the school administrator asking if the mobile lab could be made available to others. I find it highly unlikely that they are used productively all day every day. The only other thing that I can think of might be to consider rotating groups through centers where one center uses computers while the others do research and rotate. I attended a conference this week where we learned of some simple free sites that allow the creation of animated digital stories. A fun and easy sight can be found at Go Animate, check it out.
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Robert Newell Response:
ReplyDeleteArianna- You write that you have 4 student computers in your room. That's 4 more than I have! We have two carts "the slow one and the slower one" and about 50 more computers throughout the school.
However, most of my students have internet access at home and I have encouraged them to email me homework assignements. I also give assignments that involve finding short articles on the web and responding to them.
Could you assign 4 groups and have one person be the "information gatherer" and the other the "reporter" or "synthesizer"? It would seem that you could still get all students involved in some way with the 4 computers.
ReadWriteThink.org also has a lot of printable activities that students can do online or printed out. I have done the "fictional character profile" so students can create mock facebook pages for literature characters.
What about creating a schedule for cart use? We have a few teachers who are ALWAYS using the carts simply because they book out time weeks in advance. Maybe you could get together with them to work out a schedule.
I teach all 10-12th grade and most do have access but some do not since the school is located in a poverty stricken city. Unfortunately we cannot schedule the carts because the Math department takes priority and they are always in use. I do make do with my 4 computers. It’s better than nothing and I have used them like centers. Thank you for your ideas. I will try out Go Animate it looks interesting.
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