Why technology?

How many students today know how to work on a computer? If you answered pretty much all of them, you are correct. The students of today have had a computer in their life since day one. Most of our students know more about computers than the teachers. As teachers we need to update ourselves for the students of today.

I know, some of you are saying, I can't learn this new technology, there is just too much out there. Well, you are right about part of this, there is a lot of technology out there, but you can learn some things that will benefit you in the classroom. Many districts have lots of technology that is available for teacher's use in the classroom. I have always been the one to jump on to the technology wave and ride as far as I could.

This past year, I did not have much of a choice when it came to technology. In my district, the 7th graders are issued an handheld device called a NOVA 5000. Each student in the grade level has one to work with throughout the school year. The NOVA 5000 is basically a handheld computer, with limits. Everyday I had to plan something around using the NOVA. I started mainly with vocabulary each day. It was an easy start to working with the NOVA. As the year progressed, the students and I were working more and more on them. The students really were excited when we would use the NOVAs and usually did not have problems understanding the lessons. Now don't get me wrong, there were some problems with the NOVAs. First, we did not get them for use until almost Winter break. For the teachers, this made us have to rethink the way we had been teaching for several months. Second, the devices we worked with were used prior to this group of students working with them. The batteries would not hold much of a charge, the screens calibration would get off, students would loose their stylus, in other words, everyday it was something new creating a problem. But overall, I enjoyed working with the NOVAs as much as the students.

I was lucky and had the chance to work with a specialized device, but say you don't have anything like the NOVA 5000, what kind of technology is there for me to use? If you school has computers, there is lots of technology to use and for every subject. The internet has many sources to work with to encourage students to work with technology. In my district, one of the programs we have available is moodle. Moodle is an online classroom. Teachers can set up classes for students to access from any computer. I used Moodle last year for quizzes, more practice on assignments, and for blogging. Students are able to talk to each other as well as the teacher through moodle. Another site I have used for school is Renzulli Learning. Renzulli Learning is a fun website for students. It starts by having the students fill out a survey of their interests. Next it sets up educational and fun websites that go along with the student's interests and learning level. The teacher can also go in an set specific assignments to students for them to work on. Renzulli Learning unfortunately in not a free site, but it is worth the purchase.