the whole idea of wikis in the context of teaching leaves me with a kind of mixed feeling. it's sort of like the taste you get in your mouth after drinking coffee. as i can see that it could be a very useful tool in teaching and organizing instruction, i also see it as an issue of availability. maybe i'm playing to role of the raincloud during everyone else's parade, but i am skeptical as to who can really use these tools.
i'm going to be teaching in belleville high school that has a very limited number of computers within the school. furthermore, the students themselves vary greatly in their access to computers at home. how should we address this in a sensitive way? hearing about all of these different tools, i get very excited to both experience them and use them, but i know not every child in my high school has access to a personal laptop, a legion of computers, and wireless internet pretty much everywhere.
i wonder how i'll be able to use these tools in a belleville classroom.
4 comments:
Larry,
I think this is the issue most of us will deal with in school during our student teaching. That is why I signed up for the virtual conference led by the head of technology in the district I was assigned. We already learned that when we have questions to ask those who have been through this before.
Find out what they will LET you do, and see if you can push the envelope even a bit further.
It's worth a try, right?
Larry
I think in some ways the "1 to 1" laptop pilot that you and the other MACers are part of may also be a hindrance for your future teaching. Because you bring up an important point, most schools do not have these programs. In many schools you have to beg for lab time. These are definitely issues of the 21st Century teacher, wanting to exposure your students to these digital worlds and teach them how to use them constructively but at the same time realizing that access may be limited. As a teacher you not only have to be creative with your content teaching, but also with technology integration. How can you take the basic tools you are given and make them useful and workable for your classroom? One thing I would like to emphasize is that Jeff and I try hard to focus on resources that are free and accessible by the internet (because 99% of schools have internet access). We will also try to give you ideas on ways to use these resources when you only have one computer in the classroom or limited lab time...and please remind us if don't!
(Larry, I reposted this because I see that I was hasty and didn't explain *why* I gave you the URL below. The link is to Kathy Schrock's page of ideas for the one-computer classroom.
Sorry! Jeff)
It is VERY important that you raise these questions, Larry, both from the policy/larger issues perspective as well as the still more important issue of your own classroom and students. Thank you.
I think that a lot of teachers, by necessity, need to be thinking in terms of the "one computer classroom" more than the '1 to 1' laptop modality.
As you get to better know the ropes in Belleville, may I suggest that you check out a page on one of the very best teacher resource sites out there, Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators:
http://tinyurl.com/2xmthk
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