Technology Integration Update

It was exciting to observe my students using technology tools efficiently and effectively yesterday.

In order for me to participate in PLC's this year, another teacher comes in and takes over the instruction of my class for about 45 minutes every other week. Yesterday I returned to my classroom to find that a student was using the LCD projector and laptop computer to display problem-solving strategies as other classmates suggested them during their traditional teacher-led discussion. After the discussion, the student posted the text on the front page of our wiki, which many students were excited to review on their own later that day.

That same student also worked together with a partner exploring paths of electricity for the Science Fair. The partnership decided to create an animated PowerPoint slide show that demonstrated how electricity travels through an open and a closed circuit. Since they were worried that some students might accidentally change the presentation, the two students requested to use an extra flat-panel computer monitor to display the animation instead of having a laptop sitting out. Their planning paid off and their traditional presentation board display of what they learned during their investigation was complimented by the animation.

Another student approached me and asked if they could use a EEE Machine to record audio and video of their experiment while it was happening. The video was then stored on the hard drive and played for the Science Fair participants that gathered for their presentation.

These stories demonstrate to me that my goal of integrating technology into the regular classroom effectively is working. The students are using technology consistently enough to apply it on their own in varying situations/locations around the school building.

Curriculum Delivery Shift in Elementary School?

"I am not a streaming video or iPod!"

I regularly have distance conversations with a teacher who states that they are not an entertainment device.

The person regularly observes that "most of the class is overly talkative, prefers to share their own connections to the topic being studied at random times without raising their hand (referred to as "blurting out"), and demand that their curriculum is more hands-on."

Is this educator (finally) experiencing their first wave of digital natives?

Most of the students of today have been raised with on-demand electronic entertainment since day one; good or bad. Why not use that fact to bridge communication/academic/social gaps that the class has?

I wonder if an effective learning inventory (both for the students and the teacher) would help the teacher adjust their instructional delivery to meet more of the needs of the class in a timely way.

Does anyone out there have any other ideas/comments? Please include your age and if you are male/female in your post.