Director Ken Ellis created a wonderful film segment over how children in Elementary School are using technology in their daily class life. In the segment "Technology Provides Parents a Window on the Classroom by Linking Home to School" we get an inside look at how technology is integrated into the classroom. A young student is shown creating a game to help recreate revolutionary war scenarios. He must research details such as the people who were involved, resources needed, allies, etc in order to make the game work. Along with the gaming software the students also use an online account known as Blackboard. On the Blackboard site they keep a blog, are able to check up on homework, find extra credit, and more. There is also a link to a system known as ParentPortal that allows parents to check in on their child, keep tabs on grades, etc. The site is also set up to automatically email the parents once a new grade is revealed. The use of technology in this fashion allows parents, teachers, and students to keep in constant communication and always be aware of what is going on.
One of the reasons the I really enjoy this segment is that it shows quite the evolution of the classroom. When I went to Elementary School (many moons ago) while we did have computers for bonus material (i.e. math games for extra credit, typing, mini papers, etc) for the most part our class revolved around note taking from the bored. This was boring, it led to day dreaming and doodling on paper. Our group projects were also the paper pencil type and if our parents wanted to know what was going on in our school world they would need to talk to the teacher or hope that we would tell them before our report cards did. Students and their families are experiencing a radically different classroom than the ones their teachers (both future and past) had. With the interactive technology and classroom advancements that all parties have access to, the sky is the limit. With the way that technology is ever changing and highly interactive it stands a high chance of keeping the student's attention in a way that the old school white board and markers never could. The same could be said with the information that is constantly at the fingertips of parents. Multiple online sites that have been set up through schools allow the parents to keep track of their child's progress and keep in touch with the teachers. This is fantastic because there are many student's who will not tell their parents everything and now the parent's have a chance to be highly involved in their child's school life. All in all, with this technology available both in and outside of the classroom a student's class experience is 100% different than anything that we, as future teachers, had experience in.
I think that the film provides great insight on how differently children are using technology today as opposed to in the past. I like the idea of the Blackboard site that is discussed. Not only is it great for students to stay on task with assignments and their progress, it is a great tool for parents as well. Many times paperwork that is sent home to parents never makes it home with the students and this will help parents to stay in the loop with what is going on in the classroom. With the grades being posted on the site, parents are also able to see what area a child is struggling in, and this can help them to start catching up in that area more quickly. Liz, I liked the film that you chose to talk about, great blog post!
ReplyDelete-Megan Johnson
I agree with your post completely! Technology can link parents to what is going in the classroom with their child if the teacher knows how to use it. Technology is great today for being able to connect with what is going on without physically being around. As stated in the video, assignments on the web is helpful for students, while grades, important information, etc. is extremely helpful to parents when provided on the web. Technology is a great way to keep students of the present interested in learning rather than just the traditional lecture and notes. This was a great video and post!!
ReplyDelete***As stated in the video, assignments on the web are helpful for students, while grades, important information, etc. are extremely helpful for parents when provided on the web.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the parentportal and blackboard online! I think parentportal is a wonderful way for parents, teachers, and students to all stay connected throughout the year and know what is going on. As we know, children are a little unorganized and don't have the whole responsibility of keeping up with things quite down yet, so lost papers that are sent home won't be an issue. Parents need access to how their children are doing in school. Notes sent home and emails aren't always sufficient enough. The blackboard will allow students to constantly know what is going on and how to keep their grade up. There isn't any chances for "I didn't know we had to do that."
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a wonderful thing and I think more teachers need to be aware of these types of amazing things to implement into the classroom!