Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Technology Tuesday!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' once again for Teacher's Week. Today is Technology Tuesday.

The greatest technology class I ever had in high school was typewriter keyboarding. It was a class I loved and practiced and excelled in. There weren't computers in high school and there weren't any in college either. I made a couple of dollars typing papers for other students. Those lessons I learned in high school have served me well!

My first meeting with a computer was the Apple IIE. A friend showed it to me and I was not so impressed and thought it was a passing fad. Two years later I had one in my classroom and I was hooked!

Today, my students are more savvy with technology than I was my first years of teaching. At first grade they can surf the web pretty well. They know how to find movies on Netflix,  and use apps on their parent's smartphones.

What hasn't changed is children's need to connect with each other and with loving adults in their lives. The ability to make lasting relationships is as important now as it was when I was a kid. I don't have a lot of technology in my classroom and I can't say I want to have a whole lot more.  Sometimes I think technology takes away a child's ability to imagine, create and daydream. Being "bored" gives children the time to find creative ways to fill gaps of time. My technology of choice is probably a blank piece of paper and a pencil. Let them draw, imagine, and create.

Don't get me wrong. I do feel there is a place for technology in the classroom. My favorite fee site is :
Click on it and check it out!

If you want to pay a bit of money, or if your district has heavy pockets, this is the subscription that you don't want to miss out on:

Ticket to Read builds fluency, and phonics skills. I love it and use it with all of my students. I can hardly wait to give them their log in information on the first day of school. The first day is coming soon, so I better get to bed! No matter how much technology we have, we still all need our eight hours!

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog and entering my giveaway!

    Megan
    I Teach. What's Your Super Power?

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  2. I remember typing papers for others during college - it certainly opened up learning opportunities for me outside of class (kind of auditing a class without ever showing up for it). I try to tell my niece how much technology has taken off and she doesn't get it (she can't really because high tech is all she's known). Put us in a library w/ a card catalog and computers that have crashed and I bet we could find just about anything, and still produce a research paper (if we could find a typewriter). Not so sure about the techno wizards. Both have a function; let's not rule either out, right?

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  3. Jenny,
    I can remember the super cool green-screened Apples that came to my elementary school...We couldn't wait until recess so that we could play the old-school Oregon Trail game. Ahhhh, good times. :)
    Corinna
    Teaching Fabulous Firsties!

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  4. I can remember learning how to program an Apple IIe to run a counting script. You've hit the nail, kids needs opportunities (daily! Hourly!!) to connect face to face and to be innovative and creative.

    I do love the techie stuff, though. From the first bite of that Apple.

    Heather
    Peacocks & Penguins

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  5. Typing in high school ... hmmm... so now I know we're maybe about the same age -- ha ha. Typing was one of my favourite classes too. It was easy and relaxing but fun and competitive trying to be the fastest typist. Thanks for the heads-up on the site. I'm going to check it out.

    ❀Barbara❀
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers Blog Designs

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