After reading the article, "Teachers adopting tools of the 21st century," by Ami Mizell-Flint, I realized that there are many different tech tools that students use outside of class, that can benefit them with their learning in class. In this article, different teachers tell of items purchased with grant money, iPads, Kindles, books for Nook, and how they helped bring their students into the 21st century way of learning.
Being that most of us have a needs assessment due soon, in your response, please discuss the needs of your school, and how a grant can help your school meet these needs. How would meeting these needs help your school, and help your students?
Work Cited:
Mizell-Flint, A. (2012). Teachers adopting tools of the 21st century. San Angelo Standard Times, Retrieved from http://www.gosanangelo.com /news/2012/jan/16/teachers-adopting-tools-of-the-21st-century/
After thinking about the needs assessment that we have to create, I realized that some of the key areas that my school scored low on the STAR Chart was in the areas of Educator Preparation, & Development, and Infrastructure for Technology.
When it came to Educator Preparation, it seems that many teachers are not well prepared in handing new technology in the class for educational purposes. It seems that this is due to a lack of training, and importance being shown towards technology integration within the campuses.
With infrastructure for technology, one of the main items of concern is the working computers in the campus. Many computers in our lab seem to not be working well, or very slowly. Also, the 6th grade lab has been turned into the READ 180 classroom, since the school did not want to add 3 more drops to a room, this really puts a limit on the space in labs for teachers to take their kids. Since space for students to use a computer can be hard to find at times, and since teachers are lacking the appropriate knowledge in using new tech items, I feel that the best way a grant can help us meet our needs is by putting more drops in a regular classroom for READ 180, in order to get the lab back, purchasing portable items, such as laptops for students, or iPads, and provide a training to teachers on the various ways they can use them in the classroom to improve student learning.
Once we have meet these needs, we will have closed the gap from being at Advanced Technology Stage in the STAR chart to a Target technology Stage. These new tools, and more tech savvy teachers, can also increase student learning since students now will have a more engaging, and 21st century way of learning.
Great Article! In our needs assessment that we have been working on in class I can see that most of our problems come from the technology itself. Our terminals are not adapt to use USB Memory Sticks and the only programs that we can use are programs available through the district and we don't even have a list of all the programs that we may use. I love to use Web 2.0 tools and they help in class a great deal but many teachers don't know they exist. I didn't know they existed until I came to the MTT program. Our poor budgeting in our district and school tie our hands when it comes to investing in technology. We invest so much in other programs that really are not efficient when we should be investing in technology. How can other districts buy ipads, Nooks, and other technologies for their students and staff? We don't have the funds to purchase those types of items and our school doesn't even have a mobile lab unit. In order to have a successful technology integration program we need a good strong infrastructure of technology just like the article stated.
I really liked the article, I know in my district technology is way behind and even though we got new computers a few years ago those are useless. The system is many times slow and is not strong enough when we need it. About 2 months ago they tried to run a test with having students input answers all at once and the system crash. We do need to use the money on the technology, because everything revolves around it.
I also liked this article, it is so interesting to read about things that are going well. It is true that students know so much more technology than we give them credit for. I read a post in a librarians' group that a school started a BYOT (bring your own technology). They are working out the kinks, but it has taken students and teachers by a storm. They are working using their phones, kindles, nooks, iPads, laptops and the level of engagement has gone through the roof. So when I read this article, it made me think about how lucky we are to have so much technology at our campus. Right now, my assistant and I are getting laptop carts ready for checkout. Now it is time to get everyone on board so that the students can make huge gains in achievement.
After revewing the needs assessment survey from teachers at our campus, I found that for the most part teachers do want to implement technology in their classroom. At our campus, we have many tools available but we do lack training. Fortunately, there are several teachers that have completed or will complete the courses to become an MTT so I know that Munoz Elementary will become a school where technology will be part of our everyday curriculum. As a future MTT teacher , it would be in the best interest of our school to provide IPads to all our students. Since, we are a low socio-ecomonic campus, the only way this can happen is if we were to get a grant. So, my goal is to find a grant that would provide IPads.
At our campus technology is standard in each classroom, they each have a smart board, document camera, projector and at least 4 computers. Certain departments have other technologies but it comes down to training and making sure teachers are using the tools, at the same time teachers need to be receptive to training and to new technology.
Based on the lowest scoring areas on my campus, W. A. Todd, the Technology Application TEKS are not being implemented, students are not achieving mastery on the TA TEKS, teachers do not feel adept to integrate technology, are not offered as much professional development they feel is necessary, and are not getting the technical support necessary. I believe that in order to meed our target, we need to focus on training our teachers to integrate technology is numerous ways, with an abundance of tools, and by several means be it hands on training, online mini sessions, or sending them to conferences. When teachers get adequate training in tools that are useful for their subject matter, and style of teaching, they will be more confident in using it in the classroom. It is at this point that we can move toward our target goal with student mastery.
After reviewing the 2011-2012 DHS STaR Chart, some of the key areas of concern that dropped to Advanced Tech were:
Teaching and Learning Educator Preparation and Development Infrastructure and Technology
It is vital to offer teachers training or send them to conferences on how to integrate technology in their lessons so that students will be able utilize the technology in the classroom and out of the classroom. The training will make the teachers feel more at ease with the technology tools and more receptive to implement them. In addition, when the district network system is working on overload, the system crashes when the students are using the terminals. We need to focus on the district infrastructure to resolve that issue. As a BIM teacher, I would like to be able to use Synchronize in the classroom terminals in order to ensure that the students are focused on their tasks and using the technology tools to become productive 21st century learners. Administrators, technology department, teachers, students, and parents need to be on the same page in order to achieve the Target Tech status.
Tech tools are readily available in our campus, DHS. Smartboards, four working terminals for each classroom, internet and mobis for some teacehrs. But, it all boils down to adequate training, motivation for the part of the teacher to even try to use them. One main concern probably would be our aging laptops. Based from first hand knowledge from my other co-teachers in math department, one thing that hinders them from using their smartboards or even just using their laptops to go into the internet to utilize Web 2.0 tools is their aging laptops. They're very slow and most of the time freezes up. With that said, trainings and hardware upgrade specifically the laptops should be our main concern in our campus right now.
One of the biggest problems that I saw in our STaR chart was the teaching and learning. Teachers were not very aware of how to integrate technology. They know it is something they have to do but are unaware of how to do it. I know one of the problems I see in my classroom with using Web 2.0 is that some requires certain plug ins to be installed and in order to install anything you must be an administrator. THis causes a lot of problems because another area of concern in our campus STaR chart was the time it takes technology to respond to requests.
I liked the article, good information. I really do think that we need more technology in our district. I think that maybe we have the technology but some teachers are not aware of how to use it. Like Itza said we as teachers can not do much on the computers due to "must be an administrator". I think that does cause a big problem, we need something for the students and are not able to get it due to this!!
I really enjoyed reading the article and definitely agree with the statement, "Yes, we can be afraid of technology," she said, "but I'm more afraid of what will happen if we don't use it." I just finished submitting my grant proposal and I basically stated what the article said. I am trying to integrate technology into my science curriculum, but technology tools don't come cheap. Writing grants is a great idea, but I feel they can be time consuming. I believe that our school districts need to make technology a priority and begin budgeting their money towards technology. I was so impressed to hear that a principal from another school was using school money to purchase Kindles for her teachers, and that next school year she will be buying 5 Kindles for each classroom.
This is a great article that point out why we should integrate technology into our curriculum. As stated in the article, "Learning through projects while equipped with technology tools allows students to be intellectually challenged while providing them with a realistic snapshot of what the modern office looks like." The only way to prepare our students for the world is to bring our teaching to the 21st Century.
started by Salina V on 06 Mar 12
Being that most of us have a needs assessment due soon, in your response, please discuss the needs of your school, and how a grant can help your school meet these needs. How would meeting these needs help your school, and help your students?
Work Cited:
Mizell-Flint, A. (2012). Teachers adopting tools of the 21st century. San
Angelo Standard Times, Retrieved from http://www.gosanangelo.com
/news/2012/jan/16/teachers-adopting-tools-of-the-21st-century/
When it came to Educator Preparation, it seems that many teachers are not well prepared in handing new technology in the class for educational purposes. It seems that this is due to a lack of training, and importance being shown towards technology integration within the campuses.
With infrastructure for technology, one of the main items of concern is the working computers in the campus. Many computers in our lab seem to not be working well, or very slowly. Also, the 6th grade lab has been turned into the READ 180 classroom, since the school did not want to add 3 more drops to a room, this really puts a limit on the space in labs for teachers to take their kids. Since space for students to use a computer can be hard to find at times, and since teachers are lacking the appropriate knowledge in using new tech items, I feel that the best way a grant can help us meet our needs is by putting more drops in a regular classroom for READ 180, in order to get the lab back, purchasing portable items, such as laptops for students, or iPads, and provide a training to teachers on the various ways they can use them in the classroom to improve student learning.
Once we have meet these needs, we will have closed the gap from being at Advanced Technology Stage in the STAR chart to a Target technology Stage. These new tools, and more tech savvy teachers, can also increase student learning since students now will have a more engaging, and 21st century way of learning.
Teaching and Learning
Educator Preparation and Development
Infrastructure and Technology
It is vital to offer teachers training or send them to conferences on how to integrate technology in their lessons so that students will be able utilize the technology in the classroom and out of the classroom. The training will make the teachers feel more at ease with the technology tools and more receptive to implement them. In addition, when the district network system is working on overload, the system crashes when the students are using the terminals. We need to focus on the district infrastructure to resolve that issue. As a BIM teacher, I would like to be able to use Synchronize in the classroom terminals in order to ensure that the students are focused on their tasks and using the technology tools to become productive 21st century learners. Administrators, technology department, teachers, students, and parents need to be on the same page in order to achieve the Target Tech status.
http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction
This is a great article that point out why we should integrate technology into our curriculum. As stated in the article, "Learning through projects while equipped with technology tools allows students to be intellectually challenged while providing them with a realistic snapshot of what the modern office looks like." The only way to prepare our students for the world is to bring our teaching to the 21st Century.