What I want in a learning environment
Kris Pichovich, teacher at Sunshine Academy in DDO, teaching a class with the aid of a laptop, a projector and a smart board – part of the Lester B. Pearson school board’s computer training program.
Photograph by : Richard Arless Jr./The Gazette
I was reading this Canada.com article which discusses how teachers at the Lester B. Pearson School Board in Montreal are part of a trial program to make them more technology-savvy in the classroom. The idea is to provide training in the use of technology that has been placed in the classroom as a study showed 80% of teachers to be technophobes.
Ped-tech leaders were identified at each school – teachers who were willing to work with technology – and they are being used as the basis for the project. These 180 teachers have each been given laptop computers, a projector and a smart board to really crank up their efficiency. In turn, they will be expected to bring other teachers into the fold and help them become more familiar with and more comfortable with using technology in the classroom.There are about two or three ped-tech leaders in every elementary school and four or five in each high school. One smart board has been bought for every elementary school and two for every high school.”The long-term objective is to make sure every teacher has a desktop that is their own and can feel comfortable using it,” Dupuis said.Theresa Bagshaw, a math teacher at Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School, finds her students love the new tech. “Math has never been so interesting to them,” she said. “It’s a reflection of our times. Kids are used to colour images and instant gratification.”
Relevance:
I have thought about what I would want in an educational experience today if I was in elementary or high school. I wouldn’t focus so much on the use of technology within the classroom but I would be interested in how it is being used outside the classroom. Although I see the benefit in training teachers how to use classroom technology, I prefer a teacher that was Internet-savvy rather than technology-savvy.
What online tools are being (if any) for students to communicate with each other regarding the class material? Is the teacher accessible outside of the classroom? Is there an email address where they can be reached? Is there a private place where students can share ideas in a blog format?
How does the teacher embrace technology outside of the classroom? How do they interact with other teachers at their school and within their board? Do they have their fellow teachers on MSN or Facebook? Do they blog? Do they have a mobile phone? What social networks do they use?