As a teacher who will be leading the technology department at my school, I have begun to realize that changing my teacher’s mentality about technology in the classroom is going to be challenging. However, I don't feel like it's going to be an impossible task. What I feel will be the most difficult part will be changing the mentality of the veteran teachers who have never been asked to use technology in the classroom. For this, I know that I will have to stop by the teacher’s classrooms and ask them how they are doing with the incorporation of technology in the classroom. I will need to walk them through the steps of certain programs, and spend countless hours in teaching them how to use these programs. But it isn't only about teaching them how to use these programs that I will need to do to change the mentality of the teachers. I also plan on having teachers stop by during my lessons and see how fun, interactive, and easy it is for students as well as teachers to use these programs. I must also continue to attend as well as teach Professional Development meetings with to our teachers so that they can see first hand that I am very passionate about Blended Learning and that I will do everything in my power to see that they learn and incorporate Blended Learning into the curriculum. For those teachers who are believers in Blended Learning but still need guidance, I will continue to research with them, the numerous programs that can be used along with their curriculum to foster student learning with the use of technology. The biggest task with these teachers will be to find programs that are exciting and will get the students interested in learning. I will also have to spend time teaching the teachers at my school how easy it is to get student results and see where students are succeeding and where they are struggling.
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At my school, students are very interested in using technology in their classrooms. Students have responded very well in the few opportunities they have had to use technology, in particular the computers in the computer lab. However, many of our students still need the guidance of a teacher to help them with their learning. Some students still need help with basic learning skills such as addition, subtraction and multiplication facts, as well as basic writing skills and reading skills. After having visited a catholic school in Glendale that has already begun using Blended Learning through the station rotation model. After our observation, and after watching the in-class youtube video on the station rotation model, we have felt that this model is the one that best fits our school make-up. This particular model will allow our teachers to schedule different working stations throughout the day. The teacher will be able to provide the students the one-on-one assistance they need to clarify any problems they might have about a certain topic. The students can work together at a second station in which they can help each other conduct research or help each other find solutions to problems, and in the third station they might be able to work independently while typing a paper, doing their own reading, and conducting their own research at their own pace. This model will work best for our school because we have concluded that our teachers still have control of the learning, while giving the students some of that power. Through the use of the programs designed to be used on a computer, students can all learn at their learning level without feeling the need to catch up to the rest of the students in the class.
As far as how we will introduce Blended Learning will be introduced at our school: it is my goal to have Professional Development Meetings to go over some of the many websites used for learning and assessing student learning. We would make sure to use only those websites that work for certain grade levels and that teachers felt comfortable with. Because we are still in the beginning stages, I would first like to roll out Blended Learning in a certain subject like math or language arts for the first half of the school year so that its not a shock to the students and the teachers can feel comfortable with implementing Blended Learning. I would then gradually begin to use it with other subject so that much of our school day could include the use of computers in our classroom. What I am hoping takes place at my school is that all students, from the lower grades to the middle school, are able to have a one-to-one device that they can use for their learning. This will include some type of tablet for the younger students to a Chromebook for students in the upper elementary and middle school grades. These devices can be used by the students to be able to work on their reading, mathematics skills through the use of online videos and games, and more importantly, to conduct their own research and be able to present it instead of just writing it down. This is something that is not currently in place at my school so this will be something new to all my fellow teachers. However, I hope that I can teach the teachers how beneficial these gadgets are to the learning of the material for the students. What I am afraid of is that many of the teachers are not willing to give some of the power over the class to the students. Teachers at my school must be willing to allow the students some power to do their own research, be able to adjust their classroom so that students have the time to work on their computers, and that the teachers are willing to take the time to learn what I have to offer them. |
Author5th Grade Teacher. Categories |