Written on
September 16, 2011 – 8:39 pm | by Catina Chapman
Against my personal stance against “set computer times”, one of my two elementary schools talked me into a set schedule. I’ve always felt that the computer lab should be reserved when what students are working on activities for that class, not just as an “extra” once a week. However, after trying to work in twenty-eight classes with set special times, rest times, recesses, lunch times, and pull out times with resource teachers, I see how scheduling time in the lab during a particular class is just not feasible. Teachers convinced me that: 1. They would swap subject times to accomodate their set time (I usually go to the computer lab during my science block, but I have a math website I want them to use, so I’ll teach science during math time this week) and 2. That they would still check out wireless carts at other times and integrate technology into other subjects as well as visit the lab once a week.
When I scheduled a fifth grade teacher, she’d already planned her entire following week. I asked her what she’d had planned for that scheduled time. She showed me the matching science quiz students would have taken. “I guess I can reschedule the quiz,” she said–a common response!
I borrowed the quiz and opened PowerPoint. I inserted a table, merged the top two columns, and made the new cell a “Name:” block. I typed each term in the left column, then created an orange text box with each definition in it.

Today, the teacher walked them through how to open the document in Open Office, close out the task and slide panes to maximize the slide’s workspace, and move the text boxes without resizing them. Students then printed their work, checked to be certain that’s what they wanted to turn in, then reviewed Virginia Studies material on www.solpass.org.
True technology integration is using technology in place of instruction in another form. While technology does not have to be involved in every lesson–there are lots of effective strategies that don’t involve technology–integrating technology effectively helps students prepare for life in an increasingly technological world.
Tags: Assessment, PowerPoint
Posted in 2011-2012 School Year | No Comments »