ED521 A18

How Has Technology Changed Your Teaching?

Being a teacher for 26 years, I have seen a lot of things come and go.  Some things have been a gradual change and others have been quick.

 When I first began teaching, lesson plans were written in a “lesson plan” book.  I wrote my plans with a #4 pencil, because I found they wrote crisp, clear lines and left no smudges behind. Lessons were written to follow the textbooks that our school had purchased.  I have transformed to typing my lesson plans using different formats/programs located on computers.  My lesson plans follow our textbooks, but are supplemented with materials found usually on the Internet.  My lessons now follow the state standards and our school’s curriculum.   Both the state standards and our school’s curriculum can be quickly located on the Internet!  I also email all three administrators in our elementary building my lesson plans weekly.

DIBELS testing has changed dramatically due to technology.  I used to have to test the students’ oral reading fluency and accuracy using a book, pencil, and timer.  Once the testing was done, I would have to create line graphs on graph paper for each individual student.  Now, the students still read the passages from a printed book, but I complete the DIBELS testing using an Ipad.  It is so convenient.  It keeps track of the time, errors, data, and creates the students’ records by creating line graphs that can be printed.  Students’ data is readily available at this website.    

The Smartboard and document reader are the heart of my classroom.  We constantly use both of these items throughout the school day.  I use it for all the core subject areas including Time For Kids (whiteboard edition), Google earth, dictionary skills, finding information quickly that the students have questions about, Skitch, Wordle, and the list goes on.  I can’t imagine teaching without these two items in my classroom.

At the end of each quarter, it used to take me a whole weekend, sitting at the kitchen table with an adding machine, to average the students’ grades.  Oh thank goodness for technology!  I now punch grades into our grading system and it does the averaging of the tests and daily grades immediately for me!!  Parents also have access to their child’s grades at this website.  This means no more surprises for anyone, if they choose to take advantage of this website.

The students’ writings still follow the 7 traits of writing.  However, now the students use technology for researching topics, taking notes, making outlines, completing graphic organizers, typing essays, and publishing their work. 

I used to contact parents through  mail or phone calls.  Now, I am able to communicate with parents and students using email, texts, Google calendar, Remind, and Google hangouts.

Using technology makes teaching more exciting for both the teacher and the students.