Blog Post #13 - What Did I Leave Out?

For this post, Dr. Strange asked us to write a blog post concerning our own field of study. I am an Elementary Education major, so I will be teaching many subjects. For this reason, my post is concerning technology and the rush for schools to go 1:1. 

The Assignment

Many schools are rushing to be the first (or the best) to go 1:1. This means that they will provide one laptop or iPad for each student in their school. Read Why Schools Must Move Beyond One-to-One Computing, and write a response to this article. If you are lucky enough to work in a school that has gone 1:1, how would you ensure that the technology your school provides is utilized effectively and not simply as a replacement for pencil and paper?

My Blog Post

This is a great article about a side of this discussion that I never really thought about. Every school wants to be on top of the technology game, but what does that really mean? Almost every classroom in Mobile has a SMARTboard, and now the race is to have iPads in the hands of every student. Who will do it first? And does that make one school better than another academically? Maybe. Teachers, administrators, and even parents need to consider what these devices are being used for. There is great potential for learning when each child has his or her own device, but they shouldn't be, as Alan November calls them, "$1,000 pencils."

If I am fortunate enough to work in a 1:1 school, I would love to implement a learning management system called Schoology in my classroom. I may use it anyways as an online supplement for home use. Schoology works as a central hub for the classroom. Using this tool, I could post assignments, grades, quizzes, and media such as audio or video. Everything is available for students, parents and even other teachers to see. This would be another piece of my Personal Learning Network as well as a beginning for the networks of my young students. Through Schoology, I can also give individual feedback to my students and track their success to see what works and what doesn't. I also like that it integrates Google Docs, Turn It In, and other sites so that everything is in one place. This will make it easier for me as a teacher and more organized for my students who will be using all of these resources. Finally, I love that schoology has iOS and Android apps available for both phones and tablets. This way, students can see their classwork from home. It will especially be useful when students miss a day of school. Below are some short videos about the uses for Schoology.