Teach-nology

Having made the shift from the language arts/social studies classroom into the applied technology classroom, I will first admit that things are going well. After some early connection and network problems, faulty wiring, and headset debacles, things have improved immensely from a purely "technological" standpoint. Obviously, to do what I would like to do in the classroom, I need the gadgets to do it - over the last 3 weeks, the gadgets have met my expectations. The students, however, have exceeded expectations. Their prowess in using iWeb and GarageBand came quickly, and every day they get more and more comfortable using an Apple computer. At this point, they almost seem taken aback if I take control of their screens using Remote Desktop to show them a certain task. Their attitude seems to be, "Why are you showing me this? Through my own manipulation and exploration of the programs, I would have figured this out myself". While I certainly appreciate the can-do spirit and determination, my mini-lessons are usually chosen because they are common problems students run into, or, they are crucial elements such as saving files to specific locations to be graded.

Because of this attitude, and the fact that students pretty much want total control, I find the more traditional aspects of teaching (hooks, mini-lessons, class discussions) much more challenging than in a traditional, core classroom. For starters, my lab is cavernous - it is two classrooms put together - not the best place for a lively, unifying atmosphere when it comes to whole-class lessons. I have experimented with many methods: me sharing my screen with theirs and showing how to do something; having the students gather up-front to watch a demonstration on the digital projector and then discuss, or continuously locking/unlocking their screens as they all practice different skills at the same time. It is definitely a work-in-progress, and my early results dictate that the 6th graders are more "lively" and react well to the locking/unlocking practice: lock, model a skill on their screens, and give them control of their screens again to practice. The 7th and 8th graders stare like zombies at their screens when I model a skill, and when I attempt to elicit discussion of a concept, they really want none of it - they want to immediately get on the computer and take control. Understandable, but not entirely beneficial.

Again, the students love the curriculum - but I do wish for the class to be more of a blend of traditional classroom strategies as well as being a workshop "tech lab" environment. As I continue to modify and reflect, I'm sure I will find that better balance with the students responding more positively to whole-class lessons. Assisting individual students and having them teach each other are splendid, but I really want more. It has only been 3 weeks, but the most important things are results and student creations. They are there - I'm hoping to improve on these by making my space into a "classroom" as opposed to simply a "tech lab" in the minds of the students.