Last week some of the #DellDozen ambassadors engaged in a live Tweet Chat and livestreaming Innovation in Education Think tank and Town Hall at MIT.
This chat and Think tank Town Hall centered around the discussions of Technology in Education – how it’s being used, where it’s being used and what people feel about the use of technology in education.
I wasn’t able to attend – but I was able to watch video from it on the Dell Innovation in Education Social Think link, if you’re interested – I recommend clicking that link and watching some. You can also check out the tweets from the hashtag #DoMoreEDU
I spend quite a bit of time in our local classrooms – whether it’s volunteering or substituting and I see a lot of technology being used to help our kids with math, reading, spelling and other cognitive growth skills.
There are some wonderful educational websites that help kids develop reasoning skills, understand cause and effect relationships and aid with spelling and math.
Our school is very lucky to have iPads and computers in each classroom as well as a wonderful computer lab that the students and teachers can use.
With society ever increasingly moving towards a highly digital age, I think teaching our children computer skills and showing them that computers can be used for more than just gaming – they can be used for educational growth and play as well; I think that’s invaluable.
My daughter has a new laptop (thanks to our participation in the #DellDozen) and she loves playing on it, however she has to earn her time through household chores, completed homework and reading time, as well as time on educational websites before moving on to the ‘play’ sites where she is a fashion designer or owns a stable of horses and must take care of them. I find that a lot of times, even after her allotted educational time is through – she chooses to stay on those educational sites and continues to challenge herself – it makes my Mama heart very proud.
Even our school district has gone digital – registering our children for school is done online, we can have alerts sent to us via email when our child has a missing assignment or when they have a grade below a certain level. For the first time ever – their report cards will not be paper (gasp) but will be sent to us via Skyward, instead.
~~I must state that not everyone has a home computer or internet or access to one, the districts have made allowances for this and everything is still able to be done via pen and paper, too~~
One of the discussions that happened during this Town Hall was about social media in the classroom – does it have a place?
My kids are younger – 3rd grade and kindergarten, so the thought of Social Media in the classroom never entered my mind.
I don’t really know how I feel about social media in the classroom – I could see the benefits, but also the possibility for distractions and disadvantages.
I’ve added an infographic that I thought was kind of interesting and I’d love y’all to take a look at it and then in the comments share your thoughts about Technology in Education and the possibility of Social Media in the Classroom. Do you have any experience with it? What are your thoughts on it? Are you pro or con or undecided… let’s talk.
Now that you’ve seen the infographic – I’d love to hear your opinions.. here are a couple of discussion starters:
- Who is using technology most often at school and for what?
- Are teachers knowledgable about technology?
- Is there a place for social media in the classroom?
- How is technology bridging between home, school and life?
- As a parent, are you willing to pay more so your children can have access to
this post is written as a part of my participation in the #DellDozen – I have received product and compensation for my participation, however the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I’m an art teacher at a high performing / successful charter school. With that said, we don’t necessarily have access to the best technology, but I do incorporate technology into the classroom. Most often I use the PBS art21 website to teach students about contemporary art (great for MS and HS). I’ve used Social Media in the past with HS (and teachers at our school also use it for MS).
As far as my children, I’m pretty well informed about technology, and I will encourage them to do the same. Max is only 20 months, so I try not to expose him to too many moving images at this point.
-Tara
http://madmaxandfamily.blogspot.com
http://blog.chron.com/madabouttown//
Tara – our school is very lucky that through grants and PTA donations there are computers in the classrooms… most of our students don’t have home access to computers.
Thank you for your input!
While I use technology, I am not able to switch gears quite as rapidly as it changes, both due to my age, as well as a lack of desire to do so. I taught kindergarten and first grade for 20 years before retiring 4 years ago. At the time of my retirement, our district was implementing a big change in technology in the classrooms throughout the district and in all grade levels. I was a creative, hands-on, nurturing, well-respected teacher. I have a computer and an ipad at home that I use with my grandchildren, so I am not “anti-technology” but it is not the way I want my grandchildren to learn to read or how to understand basic number concepts. The only way to truly know that they understand is to talk with them and interact with them in a personal way. I felt the same way about my students. Little children need social interaction to help them understand feelings and body language and cultural differences, as well as similarities, and to answer the many questions that they have about everything they encounter. That cannot be achieved with a computer as the primary source of information. Yes, technology has a place in the classroom, but it should not BE the classroom, nor should it replace conversation or be present at all times.
Karen,
That is an excellent point and one that I wholeheartedly agree with. It should be an aide – not the teacher… it’s a bonus.
Thank you so much for weighing in!
karen, a rachel tem razão! esse é um ponto excelente e que concordamos plenamente.