The Vision...just a beginning....

Instead of feeling like we are expected to do new and different things when using technology and adding more stuff to our plate, I like to think of using technology for doing the same classroom tasks with new and updated tools. I think the next three years do not have to look brand new and inventive in terms of ideas but rather in the tools that we use to do whatever it is that we do in the classroom. Teachers are innovator and no matter what the tools, they have to invent and reinvent in order for the learning enviroment to work for all children. Technology gives us new tools and expands the ways we can implement our ideas.

Here is a simple example....For many years, I sent hundreds of dollars on film and developing so that I could have photographers of my students to display at open house, curriculum night or for them to write about. I also used photos to document projects and to record things about field trips. i still use photos in the classroom but it has been years since i have gone and had a roll of film developed. As for uses of the photos, even that has expanded because the technology has made it easier. i now put photos in my memos, send photos home to show a parent what their child did at school, make slide shows for curriculum night, keep folders of photos on the computer for each child and would like someday to burn a disk with their photos for the end of the year (haven't found the time for this during the end of the year crunch) and now I am planning on documenting in more detail the progress a child makes over the course of the year with digital portfolios.

Another idea that I have been playing with since early spring, is the idea of replacing the tape recorder in my classroom. After reading about some ways to use digital recording with the iPod and a microphone, I have been rethinking how to use recording in the classroom. Somehow, the ole tape recorder and the cassettes seems way too cumbersome and having digital files is very appealing. More about this at another time...but just start thinking about the classroom uses for a tape recorder and then shift to new technology and see where you go.....