Tech Stories: September 2012

• September
• 25

11:51 am Tech Stories

Here’s the second round of tech use stories from around the Academy campus.

The next collection of tech stories will begin towards the end of October. You can also read about the last round of tech stories right here.

Molly Muller, History

How do you use technology in your classroom?

While I’m not 100% paperless yet, I am moving in that direction. I used to print/photocopy handouts for class or homework on a regular basis, but now I do it far less frequently. I have ensured that my students can and do access the portal and I am going to start having them turn in their papers to me via email. I will then use my Ipad to grade and email the corrections back to the students.

I have, and continue to, project images, powerpoints, movies etc. One thing I’m going to start doing more of is playing podcasts in class. I hope to do one per week, and then at the end of the semester do a project where students make their own.

What works well?

Using the portal has worked well, and I think students are realizing that it can be a tool for them rather than simply a place to get their homework. Projecting in my classroom is also something I find useful.

I hope to expand my toolkit of technology resources as I become more familiar with how to use my iPad in the classroom.

What hasn’t worked well?

Streaming video clips. I hope that the faster internet speed will help with this!!

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

Now that we have our snazzy new Ipads I’ve been doing my best to figure out how to use this technology in my classroom. I’ve downloaded apps, bought a stylus, and am ready to settle into this new project.

My first goal has been to get myself more organized by using the iPad. I have installed an app called TeacherKit that is really useful. I’ve entered all of my classes into the app and can use it to take attendance, record homework completion, and store daily performance grades. I have eliminated my paper grade book, and will now use this to keep track of information I collect daily.

The app is user friendly, well organized, and allows me to quickly enter information all in one place. I recommend it to all teachers!

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

I think that it helps them have access to information they would not get in their text book, and allows them to review information or find a handout that they may have lost. I think it also allows me to present information to them more effectively and in more ways so that it is easier to understand.

Kathy Hockman, Science

How do you use technology in your classroom?

How do I use technology? Oh, let me count the ways…the ways I try and the ways I succeed. I have recently made an almost complete move into the Apple world being now the proud owner (or user) of an iPod, iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. I have the most familiarity with my iPhone so I rely it on it the most, so far, it is Smart after all!! I also have the use of a Lenovo Thinkpad. I project notes, take photos, project photos, play music, manage grade book, and portal from my technology sources.

What works well?

That with which I have the most familiarity works well. Projecting presentations, notes, images, and videos works fairly well (internet connectivity issues aside). Enforcing the expectation that all of my students will contact me through the portal and keep abreast of class info is working better.

What hasn’t worked well?

I think the biggest problem I have had thus far is not having the time to really commit to “playing” with the options. Sometimes I have things planned that I think work and then, in the reality of my classroom, things do not go well. Sometimes the internet is an issue, sometimes the fact that the speakers that were in my room have migrated elsewhere is the issue, the positioning of the projector is an ongoing issue. But the time to make the use of the technology that is available is probably the biggest hindrance to more success encounters with it.

Which use of technology are you most proud of?

I was pretty psyched when I was talking about what we had done in class with a student who had missed class and I was able to pull up a picture from my phone that showed what I was talking about so much better than the words I trying to use to explain it. I’m not sure I have really elicited feelings of pride with my technology yet…but I’m going to keep trying.

How have your students been impacted by your use of technology?

I hope that my use of technology is helping to make the information my students need, to stay connected with class, is enabling them to do so more easily and in the ways they would prefer and use more often. I have a long way to go and a short time to get there, but I’m upright and mobile and that’s half the battle.

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