A New Generation of Technology

Chapters 5 and 6 of the textbook cover new and/or more advanced technologies for the classroom. While some of them are, as the text claims vital and unavoidable, others are helpful if one has experience and training implementing them. In all the districts I have worked there have been some form of electronic gradebook. My most recent employer required that weekly lesson plans be submitted electronically to our curriculum specialist for review. In these situations, these were nonnegotiables. And in each of these situations, I struggled with the technologies. The gradebooks were iffy, crashing often and sometimes not saving the information I input from my off-campus computer. The lesson plan software was not user-friendly and difficult for any lesson plan not involving the "5 E" lesson concept. More flexibility with the software would have been helpful.

In reading the assigned chapters, I noticed a few programs I would like to use in the classroom in the future. Having students create their own books or stories via desktop publishing software would be a great project for the end of the year. Students could demonstrate their understanding of the main objectives and create a finished product that can be used in subsequent years as standardized test preparation materials.

The first part of this week's assignment required us to put together a presentation. One option was to create a Glog through glogster.com. While I was intimidated by the new and unfamiliar platform, I saw its benefits. Students could create a multimedia/hypermedia "poster" that could be viewed by different sections of the same class. Students (and teachers both) could evaluate each other's work quickly. The finished glogs are attractive and interactive (visually stimulating), tempting students to review what they learned without much effort.

One idea that popped into my head as I was reading the text was the integration of new devices in the classroom. The chapters focus primarily on new software and programs for education, but apart from a mention of how PDA and cell phone technologies are advancing, there is very little mention of some of the exciting new hardware that can made teaching a little less stressful. E-readers and devices such as Amazon's Kindle or Border's Nook have the potential to change teaching literature. Electronic forms of the textbooks and books used in reading classes will free up shelf space in storage closets across the country. Some devices even have interactive capabilities that allow students to look up unfamiliar words within the text and highlight text they find interesting (without damaging a physical text!). Literature circles would be more cost effective, as multiple texts can be loaded onto one device. In the future, AR tests and an AR-like database to store books read and reading comprehension results from tests could be accessed on the handheld device. Teachers could access results and evaluate understanding immediately through their own devices. Just an idea.