Observations of Technology in the Classroom
In the classroom I observe there is minimal use of technology, especially on the part of the student. The teacher has a SMART board which is utilized during most classes in order to deliver PowerPoint presentations. The presentations I’ve observed have never included student use of the SMART board, tough the teacher occasionally writes on her slides. It seems a shame that a somewhat costly and potentially engaging technology like the SMARTboard is being underutilized. In a Tech&Learning blog 10 uses for the SMARTboard include note-taking and brainstorming, games, United Streaming, interactive flannel boards, click-and-drag activities, interactive worksheets, board games, graphic organizers, interactive websites, and PowerPoint presentations. The only other technology that has been used during observation is the television and VCR. The students recently viewed a movie during class, when the teacher needed a substitute for the day.
I would like to say that when I teach I would utilize technology more often and more effectively than the teachers I observe. I hesitate to say that when even young teachers, like my own mentor teacher, are not all using technology, though it is something they would have grown-up with and been trained to use. The potential for student learning when technologies like SMARTboards, blogs, websites, etc… are great, but it seems something is stopping teachers from choosing to use them. Hopefully through the skills and content learned in the EMAT515 course and some experimenting I will learn to effectively utilize technology to further student learning of content material and develop technological literacy.
