How Times Have Changed: Technology in the Classroom

 

In 2001 Larry Cuban wrote Oversold and Underused (978-6674011090). The book acknowledged teachers not having the power to use technological resources to teach and empower their students. Teachers were mostly told what curriculum was acceptable and had to follow strict guidelines for computer usage. Dr. Cuban would go on to do more research in this area and the area of reforming curriculum throughout the school systems. His articles span the k-15 level inclusive of special education.

In the magazine The Journal (vol. 34, no. 6) printed in June 2007, the article on how to keep the cords and wires neat in the classroom setting caught my attention   The entire volume was devoted to technology in the classroom that was relevant at the time. There were articles on computers, in the classroom as well as how to use an interactive whiteboard.

We have gone past cords and wires. We are no longer fascinated by whiteboards.  We have promoted to Chromebooks and laptops. We had a change in 2020 that prompted teachers and students to learn more about technology. We have come a long way, many students and educators were catapulted into distance learning without the tools needed to run a successful classroom. Many were ready and shared their knowledge with those around them.

Thankfully, those teachers have shared tools and apps with us to make the virtual classroom more comfortable.

One of the first tools I used was GOOGLE classroom. This was intuitive and had many ways to keep the assignments posted and grades aligned to each assignment. It has morphed into a more interactive site and is very popular.

CLEVER can be used with GOOGLE classroom. Clever is a digital learning platform for K12 schools--Students get a digital classroom with all the resources they need to login ( CLEVER can also be used with ZOOM).(clever.com) This app helps students by remembering all of their various passwords for them so that teachers are able to use multiple apps without worrying about burdening students with having to remember multiple log-ins.

ZOOM for Education allows you to create a FERPA-compliant online learning environment that will feel familiar to both teachers and students. ... Even the Zoom basic account has its smartphone app, so students can join the video classroom using the cameras on their Androids or iPhones (www.zoom.com)

PBS Learning Media/ Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards. There are lessons on Science, Mathematics and Social Studies available. www.pbslearningmedia.org

 

Discovery Education inspires educators to go beyond traditional learning with award-winning digital content and professional development. www.dicoveryeducation.com

Khan Academy can be used as a helpful tool for teachers, students and parents. Learn for free about math, art and computer programming . There are High School science lessons available as well. My classroom mathematics books were aligned to Khan academy, therefor making it easier for students to study or review.

 

Pear Deck. Pear Deck for Google Slides is the #1 Slides Add-on, making it effortless for educators to add interactive questions and formative assessments to their lessons

 

Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" to facilitate video discussions. Each grid is like a message board where teachers can pose questions, called "topics," and their students can post video responses that appear in a tiled grid display.

 

Epic! is free for teachers, and it gives you and your students free access to fantastic books that they can listen to and read. ... Kids can choose their interests, browse by category and see eye-catching book covers. Epic! makes listening to and reading books incredibly appealing.

JamBoard is essentially an online interactive whiteboard. Teachers use this for everything from word building to math talks to creating KWL charts to shared reading. Links to Jamboards can be shared with students during virtual meetings so that both teachers and students can interact with the Jamboard at the same time.

 

SeeSaw is a classroom app used in over 3 out of 4 schools in the US and over 150 countries. Keep students engaged and connected in class and during distance learning. Seesaw has activities in every subject area and in every grade. Teachers can use pre-created activities or create their own. Students can record videos, take pictures, upload pictures, complete academic activities and comment on their classmate’s work.

 

Nearpod seamlessly integrates with Google Classroom so teachers can embed and assign lessons right within their Google Classroom account.

 

These are just a few of the applications that have become a daily part of the academic life of teachers and students over the past year (if they were not already using them). Our hope is that all of the new technology tools we have learned in the past year find their way into our classrooms once we are back in person and help us meet our students’ needs even more effectively than before.