Blog 3: Interactive Whiteboards & SRS
Technology has undoubtedly made the world a more exciting place. It has also provided a challenge in the classroom. Surrounded by the interactive dazzle of technology in their daily lives, students are likely to be less engaged in a traditional one-to-many classroom format. Today's students require a different teaching approach.
What a powerful tool Student Response Systems (SRS) can be in the classrooms. SRS promote innovation and outstanding success. Case studies demonstrate the dramatic difference to your classroom by increasing learning, in attentiveness, and productivity. Teachers strive to provide their students with the latest educational technology offerings. They have begun using SRS to decrease grading time, increase student participation and even in preparation for the state's assessments. We are always looking for ways to replace the time-consuming tasks that involve grading the traditional pencil and paper tests with something easier and fun. We are always struggling with trying to engage 100 percent of our students 100 percent of the time. With SRS this engagement struggle can be made easier. SRS also allows teachers to isolate individual student comprehension and work with them on a one-on-one basis as needed.
One way to use SRS in your classroom would be to check students' understanding at the end of each unit. Because each student can be assigned a numbered response tool, you can check which students had trouble understanding the material and reteach that particular concept. The classroom teacher can also use the SRS to determine what students already know about an upcoming unit. This will help the educator determine where to start teaching a new concept. Instead of individual assessments, entire class assessments can be taken after watching a video on a particular topic. You can set up a simple true or false assessment where you are surveying an entire classroom rather than individual assessments. Diverse teaching methods are a must in today’s classroom. The SRS tailors the curriculum to each student individual needs by allowing the student remain anonymous in their responses to questions.
Another powerful technology tool in the classroom is interactive whiteboards. Interactive whiteboards can replace traditional whiteboards or flipcharts in the 21st Century classroom. With an interactive whiteboard you can show your students web sites, presentations from your computer, or anything you might see on your computers desktop. The electronic interactive whiteboard combines presentation tools with interactive learning experiences for large or small groups, as well as for distance learning. This presentation device interfaces with a computer. The computer images are shown on the board by a digital projector, where they can be seen and manipulated by using his finger as a mouse or a stylus. The teacher or student can run applications directly from the board. Another user at the computer can also have input. Any notes or drawings can then be saved or printed out and distributed to group members. You can use this technology tool to present a lesson, have students partake in the lesson as active participants, change the lesson, and save it all on the whiteboard. When students are absent they can see what they missed by viewing the material that was saved.
Why should you use an interactive whiteboard in your classroom? The board accommodates different learning styles. Students of different ages and levels can use it. One-computer classrooms can maximize the use of limited computer access by using the whiteboard. Students can work together with individuals contributing at the board, other participants at the computer, and the group as a whole discussing the activity. It can interface well with other peripherals such as a video camera. Finally, it is a kid magnet! Using the interactive whiteboard, the key word being interactive, kids of all ages are drawn to the board. Children just want to use the board at every opportunity.
Using interactive whiteboard or SRS in your classroom increase the effectiveness of learning because it engages students in creative ways. They have an ownership in the lesson because they actively participate and enjoy participating in their learning environment. Think about it, is there anyone you know that doesn’t like going to the board?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Active Learning and Technology Blog Deux
Active Learning and Technology: Blog 2
The article “Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions” hit home in a lot of ways. It discusses single- and double-loop learning which was something I was doing, but didn’t know a label had been placed on it. The National Research Council broke change down into three categories: learning contemporary skills (single-looping), advancing foundational concepts (single-looping), and finally the skill area of adapting intellectual capabilities (double-looping). The majority of teachers I work with are at the single-loop stage which is day to day tech usage such as emailing, common knowledge of programs that they use all the time and seeing the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic media in their classrooms. The article goes on to say how change can take place in the 21st century classroom, teacher and student.
In order to have change in our schools we have to have change agents, people who are not afraid of change. I’ve taken team building workshops and there are always two main categories of teachers in schools, those who want to change and are not afraid of change and the others are called “boulders”, those who won’t change no matter what. The question is how we get the “boulders” to accept change and bring technology into the 21st century classroom. I asked myself what motivated me to want to change and use technology for problem solving and critical thinking in my lessons at school. I like change and enjoy learning new strategies. Intrinsic gratification comes to mind. Some teachers don’t want to change because they don’t want to do one more thing because of the demands of the day to day classroom. The first step is you have to want to change.
How can I get others to change? They didn’t Rome in a day! Baby steps, that’s the key. Small steps of introducing technology into your lessons are a large part of getting teachers to buy into change. Some teachers that don’t want to change by using technology is because the fear factor, their just not risk takers. Incorporating small workshops for teachers before or after school really does benefit not only the teachers but also their facilitator. I like conducting workshops with just two people in a group. That way they are gearing their learning to what they want to know at the level they are working at. They need a solid foundation in the technology if they want to try using in the classroom. A small setting always works better. Also, who is in the training with them makes a difference. After they are comfortable and working at a designated skill level, the next step would be move to their curriculum area. Modeling and sharing would be the next step. Teachers always complain we never have time to share ideas or observe other teachers in the day to day classroom setting. Teachers having the time to talk about what they do in their classrooms and how easy it is or how it would be to use technology or even visit a teacher using different medias for a similar lesson they both teach would be an enormous help. Set small goals for planning. An example could be change one lesson in a unit to incorporate a technology media. The facilitator of the training could set up a support buddy, or support group for teachers wanting to change. Another key component of helping teacher change would be to reflect back to see how it worked this year and what would they change for next year. Teachers teaching teachers and sharing what they did in the classroom works. I believe the key is small changes over a period of time with a support network built into the training sessions. We need to get the teachers out of their comfort zone.
Students are basically the same as teachers. They have to buy into the 21st century classroom rather than the traditional classroom. Students, teachers and parents are use to the “stuff and dump” syndrome that the article addresses in the traditional classroom. They have the same fears and anxieties that the teachers have. They don’t like being out of their comfort zone. Change needs to be slow when it comes to the standardized testing that students are use to. They need to be brought slowly along for them to succeed in performance based testing. They need to move from the passive learner to the active learner.
Research shows that “active learning is one of the most important and beneficial components of the learning process.” Active learners are able to understand difficult material, adapt to difficult problem solving tasks, and relate the task to real life situations. Active learners retain what they have learned and have the skills necessary to achieve problem solving and higher level thinking skills needed in the 21st century. You’re never too old to learn new tricks!
The article “Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions” hit home in a lot of ways. It discusses single- and double-loop learning which was something I was doing, but didn’t know a label had been placed on it. The National Research Council broke change down into three categories: learning contemporary skills (single-looping), advancing foundational concepts (single-looping), and finally the skill area of adapting intellectual capabilities (double-looping). The majority of teachers I work with are at the single-loop stage which is day to day tech usage such as emailing, common knowledge of programs that they use all the time and seeing the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic media in their classrooms. The article goes on to say how change can take place in the 21st century classroom, teacher and student.
In order to have change in our schools we have to have change agents, people who are not afraid of change. I’ve taken team building workshops and there are always two main categories of teachers in schools, those who want to change and are not afraid of change and the others are called “boulders”, those who won’t change no matter what. The question is how we get the “boulders” to accept change and bring technology into the 21st century classroom. I asked myself what motivated me to want to change and use technology for problem solving and critical thinking in my lessons at school. I like change and enjoy learning new strategies. Intrinsic gratification comes to mind. Some teachers don’t want to change because they don’t want to do one more thing because of the demands of the day to day classroom. The first step is you have to want to change.
How can I get others to change? They didn’t Rome in a day! Baby steps, that’s the key. Small steps of introducing technology into your lessons are a large part of getting teachers to buy into change. Some teachers that don’t want to change by using technology is because the fear factor, their just not risk takers. Incorporating small workshops for teachers before or after school really does benefit not only the teachers but also their facilitator. I like conducting workshops with just two people in a group. That way they are gearing their learning to what they want to know at the level they are working at. They need a solid foundation in the technology if they want to try using in the classroom. A small setting always works better. Also, who is in the training with them makes a difference. After they are comfortable and working at a designated skill level, the next step would be move to their curriculum area. Modeling and sharing would be the next step. Teachers always complain we never have time to share ideas or observe other teachers in the day to day classroom setting. Teachers having the time to talk about what they do in their classrooms and how easy it is or how it would be to use technology or even visit a teacher using different medias for a similar lesson they both teach would be an enormous help. Set small goals for planning. An example could be change one lesson in a unit to incorporate a technology media. The facilitator of the training could set up a support buddy, or support group for teachers wanting to change. Another key component of helping teacher change would be to reflect back to see how it worked this year and what would they change for next year. Teachers teaching teachers and sharing what they did in the classroom works. I believe the key is small changes over a period of time with a support network built into the training sessions. We need to get the teachers out of their comfort zone.
Students are basically the same as teachers. They have to buy into the 21st century classroom rather than the traditional classroom. Students, teachers and parents are use to the “stuff and dump” syndrome that the article addresses in the traditional classroom. They have the same fears and anxieties that the teachers have. They don’t like being out of their comfort zone. Change needs to be slow when it comes to the standardized testing that students are use to. They need to be brought slowly along for them to succeed in performance based testing. They need to move from the passive learner to the active learner.
Research shows that “active learning is one of the most important and beneficial components of the learning process.” Active learners are able to understand difficult material, adapt to difficult problem solving tasks, and relate the task to real life situations. Active learners retain what they have learned and have the skills necessary to achieve problem solving and higher level thinking skills needed in the 21st century. You’re never too old to learn new tricks!
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