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How Did I Start?
How Did I Start?
I never predicted that my educational journey would lead me to become such a passionate advocate for getting technology to students and then finding best practices for using that technology, but I probably should have seen it coming. As a child, my father started picking up books on coding languages, and filled notebook after notebook with strange words and sketches of websites. He opened his own graphic and web design company, entirely self-taught. I made myself a very cool website, dedicated to Archie Comics, as a child under his guidance and inspired by his mindset.
Some of my dad's early notes in planning a website for a client
I believe one of the best skills we can train our students in is the ability to dissect a problem, Google around for possible solutions, try and fail and try again, and find solutions without someone holding their hand every step of the way. That is how my father taught me, and that is what has gotten me to where I am today.
Why Do It?
Why Do It?
I have personally undertaken a journey towards creating a paperless classroom, adapting and relying primarily on Google Apps for Education (GAFE) tools to do so. After my first foray into Google Classroom the year it was introduced, here are a few thoughts my students shared with me regarding the tool.
The next year, I was lucky enough to be granted a classroom set of Chromebooks. From there, I was dedicated myself to figuring out how to make a (mostly) paperless classroom. Some students at first were apprehensive when I asked their initial thoughts on the idea. I surveyed students at the start of the year and at the start of second semester, and here is a selection of how a few students evolved their attitudes through one semester.
I did make a few changes at semester based on feedback by offering paper/pencil options at times, mostly when students were brainstorming and it wasn't something they needed to turn in or when it was a project. By and large, despite at least 10-15 students saying they wanted more paper/pencil options, when it came down to it, no more than 5 out of 160 chose to complete activities on paper when the choice was offered.
As a teacher, I was very satisfied with the change. I was able to grade from anywhere, including on my phone a few times when I didn't have the files saved off-line that I thought I did. Student work wasn't lost, the number of errors in typed writing (common ones included not capitalizing "I" due to a reliance on auto-correct) decreased, and I received good feedback from parents and guardians about students being able to complete assignments from anywhere.
Where Am I Going?
Where Am I Going?
Things will certainly be different for me in the 2016-2017 school year due to my selection as a new teacher for a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) course. I will be trained this summer in Automation and Robotics and teaching a very introductory course. So, stay tuned for how my use of technology in the classroom continues to evolve and change when technology becomes embedded in the content itself!
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