I find myself continually looking to technology to help motivate my students, so they can take greater control in the process of their own learning. More and more, I'm find students using technology to learn, display their thinking, and show their understanding. As such, I am always looking to use computers, laptops, tablets, and other devices to support my teaching practice. The use of Web 2.0 tools has made it easier to access and save information for a variety of purposes. It is important that educational practices stay up to date with these tools, to keep teachers in the know, and to maintain student access to applications that will support their learning.
With the Halton District School Board, there has been a lot of professional development and
teacher training with regards to the Halton Cloud. The Cloud is basically Halton's licensed and self operated version of Google Docs. Like Google Docs, users can create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms online, that can also be saved online, or "In the Cloud." Furthermore, these documents can be shared online with others, for viewing, commenting, or collaborating purposes. One feature that I found very useful and was new to me this year, was the ability to search the cloud for publicly shared documents, that any Halton teacher can access and utilize. The Halton Cloud is an excellent tool for both teacher and student use, and Halton continually provides regular P.D. sessions for both beginner and intermediate users.
Another Google Docs app that Halton has been providing training for, is the use of Google Classroom and Google Sites. Google Classroom is a new application strictly made available to teachers and educators, that allows teachers to communicate more easily with their students. Teachers can set up their own classroom online, so students may access the site for the purposes of sharing and submitting work and assignments. Teachers can present tasks and assignments online, and track student progress as they work through its completion. Google sites is a website builder that is easy to use, for teachers to create their own website. Like many other website builders, teachers can post information about their class, and keep parents in the know about what is being covered in terms of subject matter and special events that may be occurring. Both Google Classroom and Sites allow for easy access to the Halton Cloud, and both also have regular P.D. sessions for teachers to take part in, and learn more about.
Finally, Halton continues to provide yearly P.D. sessions for Assistive Technology within the classroom. Each school within the district has an A.T. team, that attends training yearly, to stay up to date with technology, applications, and software for A.T. purposes. At these training sessions, A.T. teacher teams are reminded of their roles within the school, and are expected to set A.T. goals for their school. Furthermore, P.D. is also provided on how to use a variety of technologies, applications, and software to support A.T. learners. Professional Development for Assistive Technology usually meets once or twice a school year.
I have always been a big fan of Google Docs for classroom use, in fact, it has been my number one online web tool for the past two years. I have also found the A.T. tools used by Halton to be very useful in terms of supporting learners with special needs. I am always left feeling however, is there more? Is Halton doing enough in terms of providing professional development and teacher training for technology integration into education. With so many tools out there, it is difficult to tell which is good, which is bad, which is the easiest to use, or which tool can do the most for you. Maybe focusing on one or two tools can be a good thing, so teachers can learn to use them well, and not feel overwhelmed with so much technology out there.
I do find in the early grades, it can be difficult to incorporate technology into the classroom. Some features of different apps in Google Docs are just too advanced for younger students to master effectively. I feel that there are better applications out there, for younger users to utilize effectively. For instance, developing a blog over a website is an easy means to get students online. I have been using Kidblog.org with my students the past few weeks to get them to share their writing online, so parents can see how they are developing within their writing skills. They love it! It's easy to use and any teacher can set up a class for free. I even have my students embedding photos and videos in their blogs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KtWSaVdzkI
While I believe that the P.D. being used for the Halton Cloud and Google Docs, Classroom, and Sites is an effective means of technology integration in the classroom, I feel that there are many more tools out there, for students of younger grades to use easily and effectively. The sooner we utilize technology in the younger grades, the quicker, more independent, and more adept students will become as they continue to grow and mature, as they move onward into the higher grade levels.
I have always been a big fan of Google Docs for classroom use, in fact, it has been my number one online web tool for the past two years. I have also found the A.T. tools used by Halton to be very useful in terms of supporting learners with special needs. I am always left feeling however, is there more? Is Halton doing enough in terms of providing professional development and teacher training for technology integration into education. With so many tools out there, it is difficult to tell which is good, which is bad, which is the easiest to use, or which tool can do the most for you. Maybe focusing on one or two tools can be a good thing, so teachers can learn to use them well, and not feel overwhelmed with so much technology out there.
I do find in the early grades, it can be difficult to incorporate technology into the classroom. Some features of different apps in Google Docs are just too advanced for younger students to master effectively. I feel that there are better applications out there, for younger users to utilize effectively. For instance, developing a blog over a website is an easy means to get students online. I have been using Kidblog.org with my students the past few weeks to get them to share their writing online, so parents can see how they are developing within their writing skills. They love it! It's easy to use and any teacher can set up a class for free. I even have my students embedding photos and videos in their blogs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KtWSaVdzkI
While I believe that the P.D. being used for the Halton Cloud and Google Docs, Classroom, and Sites is an effective means of technology integration in the classroom, I feel that there are many more tools out there, for students of younger grades to use easily and effectively. The sooner we utilize technology in the younger grades, the quicker, more independent, and more adept students will become as they continue to grow and mature, as they move onward into the higher grade levels.
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