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Entry into the Faculty of Education Final Year
It's the first day of my final practicum placement and final year in the Faculty of Education. My experience with technology up until this point has been minimal. I am excited (and nervous) to discover that my practicum school is equiped with mimio technology in every classroom, as I am sure this will force me to familiarize myself with the product and its uses. Image from: http://www.visionext.com.au/display-and-presentation/mimio-capture/ -
Practicum Day 2
As the first week of school continues, I witness a variety of lessons that incorporate the mimio technology at my practicum school. Activities include: Taking attendance, creating work examples, projecting/completing worksheets as a class, and interactive slide presentations. I am impressed with the opportunities and hope that experiences in the upcoming term will help me to develop confidence in my technology skills. -
First Day of Classes
It's the first day of classes in the final year of my degree. I am looking forward to my first class, Teacher and Technology, as I hope it will help me become more comfortable with using technology to supplement my teaching. -
Adjustment Time
I experience a wake up call as I arrive at Teacher and Technology to discover I have not done the required reading. It's not like me to not be prepared for class, and this makes me extremely uncomfortable, especially since I was unaware that there were any readings. I quickly realize that we were supposed to gather this information from the prof's blog. Despite my initial ignorance, I realize this is a great resource! My eyes are opened to a new classroom possibility: The online classroom. -
First class in the Lab
We are about to spend our first class in the lab and I am unsure what to expect. The class includes discovery of online tools for teaching. I am intrigued, but skeptical. I make note of the resources, but am still unsure how I will incorporate them into the classroom. -
Discoveries in the Lab
We spend time learning about various tools for sharing information on the web. I was proud of myself for already using google docs, but had never thought about how it could be used in the classroom before. What a great tool for group work or idea sharing!
We are instructed to create an image about our feelings on technology using SumoPaint.com. At first I find it silly, but ended up creating something quite profound that depicted both my uncertainty as well as my hope for clarity. See image. -
Anxiety, Panic, Stress...
The dreaded day has finally come. My first Teacher and Technology assignment is due, and of course I am FREAKING OUT! My lack of technological competency is suddenly blatent and I feel frustrated, nervous, and angry. Finally, I gain the motivation to get working and discover that although I am not as incapable as I thought, my prof was right... technology is the black hole of time. -
... And Finally, Excitement!
After spending 3 hours on 25 seconds of video, I realize that technology is not as scary as I thought. I think this is an excellent assignment idea for older students. It forces synthesis of information, attention to detail and creativity. I am also grateful for the lesson on how to upload things to YouTube. Of course when it was all done, I was extremely pleased. There's something about creativity as opposed to information recall that envokes a sense of pride in one's work. -
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Skepticism Returns and Continues
Although I am eager to learn about technology, I am skeptical of the BYOD concept. My hesitancy is reflected in my Meta Teachnition Assignment #1. It is hard to picture a music classroom filled with Ipads rather than Studio 49 xylophones. How can students experience music in an equally valuable way using technology rather than instruments? -
More Cool Ideas... Maybe it's Not So Bad.
Another trip to the lab provides us with more teaching ideas. I chose to explore a site called Glogster. At this point I am feeling much more confident in my technology knowledge. Although some things are still unfamiliar (actual set up of equipment and devices) I am realizing there are many resources out there that incorporate aspects of technology but are still user friendly and relatively non-scary. -
Thinking Deeper
After being asked to write a meta-teachnition on our web usage, I realize that my exploration of the internet is minimal. There are so many programs that I have been introduced to during this class, yet I still am just visiting the same 4 or 5 websites. I make a goal to incorporate more web resources into my teaching, as many of the things we have seen have been extremely interesting and valuable. -
Assistive Technologies
My eyes are opened by a presentation by Lori Wiebe on assistive technology. I promply go home and watch videos on the subject from our RWL list. I can now truly see the value of technology in the classroom. These students are not able to experience music without it, therefore it is not an option for them. My outlook has changed drastically, and I hope I get to experience some of these assistive programs throughout my career. Image from: http://www.techtrain.org/assistivetechnology/resources2. -
(not so) SMART Board
My eyes are opened to the challenges of incorporating SMART board technology into the classroom. This seems silly as it's supposed to be a tool to assist lessons, yet developing a lesson strictly for SMART board usage is hard. How can we use it as more than a projector? -
SMART success
After creating our interactive Staff Wars lesson, I am much more excited about SMART board usage in my classroom. An activity like this requires the SMART board and facilitates a faster lesson pace than some of the lessons I've seen, which will help with student engagement. Although I still think a SMART board would be used mostly as a projector in my class, I am now aware there are other valuable experiences to be had using this tool. -
I Guess It's Not So Bad...
After almost a full semester of learning about technology in the classroom, I have changed my outlook. Although I still feel that it will be harder to integrate technology into the music room (as opposed to a regular classroom) I see that the opportunities are there. I am encouraged by the words of my prof that SMART boards are not the "be all end all" of classroom technology. I am excited to see what the future holds. Image from: http://www.sync-blog.com/sync/ -
Goals
As I am writing my teacher and technology exam, I develop goals for my future as a technology-using educator. They include
1) Find ways to teach students about online resources as I feel this will encourage them to incorporate music into their daily lives.
2) Continue to keep up to date with new technology and use them as I feel appropriate.
3) Work on my confidence with technology, It's really not that scary.
With these goals in mind, I know my development will continue throughout my career.
