Over my teaching career, I've been spoilt with having the latest technology available at nearly all the schools I've worked in. My latest school is no exception. Every student has their own MacBook to use, either owned by the student or leased from the school. One-one laptop programs make teaching just so much easier with all students having access to computers all the time.
While I'm no luddite, I don't grasp new technologies nearly as quickly as kids do and I've been absolutely amazed by the technological capacities of my new class of Grade 5 girls. Many of their projects have been presented using iMovie, a program of which I know the basics but am perplexed at how the kids manage to create their outstanding presentations. Their use of Google Docs has also blown me away. Just the other day, I growled at a group of girls, telling them that they only needed one laptop between the three of them. "No Miss Davidson, we're working on a Google Doc!" and sure enough, each girl had the same document on their screen, all working simultaneously to write their part of a weather broadcast script. For those students who aren't quite as productive when working on their laptops, there is a special program that allows me, on my laptop, to pull up a history of each student's computer on the spot so I can see if they are doing their learning task or playing a computer game. The third big technology element is the use of a wiki as the main communication tool for parents. All class information is posted on the wiki, along with student homework. It's amazing how so much has changed in the past four years since I've worked with a one-one laptop program. It only makes me wonder what changes will occur over the next few years.
While I'm no luddite, I don't grasp new technologies nearly as quickly as kids do and I've been absolutely amazed by the technological capacities of my new class of Grade 5 girls. Many of their projects have been presented using iMovie, a program of which I know the basics but am perplexed at how the kids manage to create their outstanding presentations. Their use of Google Docs has also blown me away. Just the other day, I growled at a group of girls, telling them that they only needed one laptop between the three of them. "No Miss Davidson, we're working on a Google Doc!" and sure enough, each girl had the same document on their screen, all working simultaneously to write their part of a weather broadcast script. For those students who aren't quite as productive when working on their laptops, there is a special program that allows me, on my laptop, to pull up a history of each student's computer on the spot so I can see if they are doing their learning task or playing a computer game. The third big technology element is the use of a wiki as the main communication tool for parents. All class information is posted on the wiki, along with student homework. It's amazing how so much has changed in the past four years since I've worked with a one-one laptop program. It only makes me wonder what changes will occur over the next few years.
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