EDU554 Workshop One Blog

It's a rare moment of silence in my classroom. The smart cookies are in computer class down the hall, so I thought it would be appropriate to do my first blog entry about how I can integrate technology into what I'm already doing.

Once again, I can see the difference between this generation and my own. I'm not that old, and I grew up with a fair amount of emergent technology that makes me open minded about the progress we are making (Twitter aside) and a person who uses technology in my every day life.

I was sitting the reader's circle with them talking about how I used to play outside and when it was time for supper, the ways I knew I needed to come inside. Usually it was my mother or sister shouting 'CHRISTINA! DINNER'S READY!". Some of my friends had whistles, or triangles and bells that they would ring and we could hear throughout the neighbourhood. If I was playing, and the street lights came on, I knew -- shouting or not -- that it was my curfew time and I was to head home.

My kids looked puzzled at me, so I took their bait and asked "Why are you guys looking at me funny?" "Miss L, why did your mother shout? Shouting is so LOUD", my smart cookies replied. "Why didn't your mom just call you on your iPhone?" (no, I'm not kidding. My first grader asked me this.) Here's what I found out: They don't go outside. They do their homework and then they play computer games or play with their Wiis and Nintendo DS. They do what I do with Facebook -- staying connected while I am in China and my friends and family are spread out all over the world. But they do it without giving it a second thought.



How do you currently integrate or plan to integrate technology into the existing curriculum?

Currently in my class, I am figuring out how to make podcasts of my weekly reading selections. Right now, I just export the file as an mp3 and I email it to my parents. I want to figure out how to do this as a podcast, so I save space on my hard drive and it can be accessed by more users than just my class and their parents. I have to be creative with the lack of resources my Chinese private school has. The Chinese teachers here don't even have WHITEBOARDS, and I am part of an elite group of classrooms that have them installed and are not relegated to using chalk and blackboards. The reading curriculum is old, and the media resource CD-ROMs were considered a waste of money when it was purchased, so much of the supplemental matierals I am using I make myself. I don't mind doing it but I want to plan ways to integrate technology that is easier for ME to produce and gives the students the most benefit.


What motivated or will motivate you to include technology in your lessons?

Like I said previously, the lack of resources and budget really means I get to be stretched in ways that make me grow as a creative technological user. Eventually, if I can show the administrators the invaluable difference that having resources, books, computers, technology, etc integrated into the classroom can bring maybe they'll increase our budget. Maybe (this is a dream, but hey, DREAM BIG) I'll even have the projector mounted to my ceiling and ActivBoard that I had my first year teaching when I taught at Westside Middle School.