Technology Use in the Classroom

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Permalink Reply by Jamie on November 21, 2009 at 2:09pm

HI

I teach Media Art and Communications Technologies. We work on Mac computers and do digital imaging with photography and video...page layout and design etc.

Each student has a blog where their work is uploaded to and it becomes their electronic portfolio.

I know I am in a great environment so not sure this is what you are looking for or not.

Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Denise on November 21, 2009 at 4:40pm

I would like to know how to begin setting up blogs for myself or other teachers in my school and then including our students in this technology. I don't know where to start. Would you please give me some advice?

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Permalink Reply by Terry Parent on November 21, 2009 at 5:31pm

I've been using Edublogs.com for myself and my class blog. I created blogs for all of my students also. It's been about 4 weeks into the experiment, teaching the students how to use its dashboard and such, but I feel now my students are on auto pilot.

I use it to create a running portfolio as I have the students constantly writing. As they practice their craft, their writing mechanics will improve, and it will all be documented.

Check us out here :

http://tparent831.edublogs.org/

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Permalink Reply by Jack Reece on November 21, 2009 at 6:01pm

What kind of school? Elementary, Middle, High? It makes a bit of a difference. What will be the primary purpose for the blog? Daily assignments, classroom news, projects or just stuff? I think you and a few other teachers should try and map out a plan.

As for what service to use, the district I teach in furnishes each teacher with a blog on Typepad. However, it is restricted so there is no commenting or 2-way communication. LOTS of teachers use Edublog for themselves and their students. I personally use Blogger for mine and my students. But my students work in groups on the blogs and they must grant me administrator privileges.

As for starting, just do it! Start a blog somewhere, put some class news or assignments on it, play with the settings and see what you get. It's okay to be plain and simple in order to start off. All the flashy stuff can come later. You students will get a kick out of seeing you on the web.

Mine is here and there are links to my student's blogs in the sidebar. http://wildcatdrafting.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Jack Reece on November 21, 2009 at 6:17pm

Shannon
Like Jamie, I teach in a field that is rich in technology. What you use will depend a lot on what subject you teach and what level you teach at. Pick one or two items and develop a plan for implementing those. It's important for the teacher to use technology in preparing and delivering the lessons, but it's more important for the technology to become integrated into the students learning.
I teach Architecture and Engineering Drafting and have been implementing new technologies every year. I've been using a web site for my class assignments for years now. I experimented with a class wiki last year but it just didn't work out too well. This year I have the student design groups using a blog to show and discuss their projects. Of course we use a lot of different software as part of the class, but I've incorporated Google Docs into the students work. I've added photography, animation and video editing.
If you'll tell us what subject and grade level you are going to teach, we can help come up with some more specific ideas for you.
PS. "...how beneficial is it to the students?" I don't think there are really as many "digital native' kids as the media talks about. Any technology process you can teach to the kids will benefit them greatly. Especially if you show them ways to be productive with what they are doing.

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Permalink Reply by Joel Garcia on November 21, 2009 at 6:51pm

Shannon, I use technology on a daily basis in my fifth grade classroom. I have an Apple machine, Windows machine that doubles as a Linux client, and 14 desktops running Edubuntu Linux through a terminal server. All computers with the exception of the Apple computer are older computers that have been donated and have been brought up to speed using Linux technology.

My students write daily in our lab. We conduct research. write news letters, create presentations, and access textbook materials. I use technology to help me teach more effectively. I use it as a learning tool and writing station during math time. I break my students into two groups based on ability level. I modify my lesson to meet the specific needs of each group. It is the same lesson, but it is presented in a different way to accommodate struggling learners and advanced learners. While I teach my lesson, all computers are within my view. I also have trained student tech. experts to help with any issues that may arise while students are completing tasks. Therefore, I am rarely interrupted during teaching. During independent practice, I quickly monitor the progress of my students on the computers.

Last year I had two Spanish speaking students. When I had my students read their social studies text, I would have my Spanish students read the same text in Spanish online. My students needing special help would also read the same text online; however, they could listen to it being read to them as well. It is amazing how long students will stay on task when completing assignments using technology. They are focused and enjoy what they are doing. My computers are a valuable teaching and learning tool.

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Permalink Reply by Christian Thompson on November 21, 2009 at 7:14pm

Sorry, but this message is for Joel...can you describe your Linux terminal server setup? What are the specs on the server itself? Do you feel the clients are quick and responsive? Any glitches? Thanks!

PS. Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like to respond directly.

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Permalink Reply by Joel Garcia on November 24, 2009 at 8:34pm

Christian, I will respond to your question in greater depth directly. However, anyone who is interested in taking a look at my totally green Linux terminal server setup can go to our website: http://hawaiianfifthgrade.weebly.com/linux_lab.html If you have any questions feel free to ask.

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Permalink Reply by Ricardo on November 25, 2009 at 1:00pm

Great lab set up, Man. I'm just know discovering Linux. In the process of converting my home PC from Windows XP to Ubuntu. If successful, I hope to implement the new OS into my classroom. Question, was it difficult to get the donated computers?

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Permalink Reply by Joel Garcia on November 26, 2009 at 1:45pm

Ricardo, It was not difficult to get my computers. You just have to know what you are looking for. For example, I sent out an email district wide asking for vintage PC's with at least a PIII processor. I received a few offers, of which 5 computers did not suit my purposes and 3 did. I kept my eyes open and within our district email the adult school wanted to get rid of a few tube monitors. Now, I was thinking that if they had old monitors there should be old computers that go with them. Right? So I replied asking if they had computers that went along with those monitor. They had thirty computers that they were going to recycle. I took all of them and used them in my classroom my partner's classroom and another teacher's classroom, all running some form of Ubuntu. The funny thing is that they were running Windows XP and were very slow online. They run great with Ubuntu with minimal setup, out of the box! The ones that I use as thin clients are even faster since I have a pretty hefty server. A few of my thin clients still have XP on their hard drive and I keep them because some publishers have software that will only work on Windows. I can do this because Linux LTSP bypasses the hard drive. I like Windows XP, but it is just not cost effective for what I need it to do. It's hard to beat Open Source resources. My students flip flop between Apple OS and Ubuntu every week with no problem. They are becoming technically well rounded being exposed to Apple and Linux, which is a prominent player in the business world running Google, OnStar, Sprint, Novell, Facebook, Hewlett Packard, and IBM. In fact, Linux commands can be used on Apple machines.

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Permalink Reply by Shannon Marble on November 22, 2009 at 12:37pm

Wow, I have already received so much useful information. I guess I should of been more specific, I am in the Elementary grade levels or special education. I know some of my classes have used websites such as google earth for virtual fieldtrips which really motivate and engage the students. Are there any other tools like Google Earth which you think could be fun but also instructional?

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Permalink Reply by Jack Reece on November 22, 2009 at 5:32pm

Shannon
Take a look at Tom Barrett's blog
He does lots of interesting things for elementary age classes. I really liked his Google math Maps series.

Don't get overwhelmed, take one thing at a time and develop it.

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