TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONS
Technology Integration is a Process
This journey into a 1:1 classroom environment must be seen as a process of growth. You will most likely begin as you would in any given academic year, doing things in the same ways you have always done. As you try new lessons, new tools and new strategies, you will move forward through stages of technology integration.
Teaching in a 1:1 environment will involve all of these aspects of teaching. And while you can get by having students use technology simply as a substitute for what they would otherwise do on paper (read, write, work on math problems), there is a much larger world of discovery and creativity now at their fingertips.
1. Start gradually: Technology integration is a process, one that starts with your comfort level, and doing things that are not too different from what you do now without the technology. Allow yourself time to adapt to the new environment. In the next phase we will discuss the levels of technology integration. For now, it's important to acknowledge that you can begin at the beginning.
2. The technology is just one more tool in your arsenal as a great teacher: One of the many benefits of the iPad is that as easy as it is to get up and running, it's just as easy to put away when not in use. Feel confident in the use of the iPad when appropriate, and have students set it aside when not necessary for the work at hand. As your comfort level increases in the use of the iPad as an instructional tool and as a learning tool, its integration into your curriculum will also increase.
3. You don't have all the answers, and students can help too: The fast pace of technological change requires us to be life-long learners. You simply can't start at the top, but must be ready to adapt when changes come. Students can be an incredible resource when you get stuck. They love to help you, and each other, and will have a sense of leadership and ownership in the learning process if you ask them for assistance. Take advantage of this built-in resource.
4. Learning from failure: Often when trying to introduce a new technology tool or strategy in our classroom, we run into a glitch, something that doesn't quite run right, or as we anticipated. It could be the tool is not ready for prime time, or it could be that we don't understand it comprehensively enough to implement successfully. It is important during these times to raise ourselves off the ground, dust off our trousers, and try again. Learning from failure is sometimes the best recipe for success.
5. The class might be a little louder than you are used to: A natural outcome of engaged learning is a classroom with more "noise". In general it's good noise, as students are actively involved in their learning. They are discussing the questions that need answering, the problems that need solutions, who takes on the different roles, what research is necessary, what should the end product look like? All of this involves discourse and interaction.
This journey into a 1:1 classroom environment must be seen as a process of growth. You will most likely begin as you would in any given academic year, doing things in the same ways you have always done. As you try new lessons, new tools and new strategies, you will move forward through stages of technology integration.
Teaching in a 1:1 environment will involve all of these aspects of teaching. And while you can get by having students use technology simply as a substitute for what they would otherwise do on paper (read, write, work on math problems), there is a much larger world of discovery and creativity now at their fingertips.
1. Start gradually: Technology integration is a process, one that starts with your comfort level, and doing things that are not too different from what you do now without the technology. Allow yourself time to adapt to the new environment. In the next phase we will discuss the levels of technology integration. For now, it's important to acknowledge that you can begin at the beginning.
2. The technology is just one more tool in your arsenal as a great teacher: One of the many benefits of the iPad is that as easy as it is to get up and running, it's just as easy to put away when not in use. Feel confident in the use of the iPad when appropriate, and have students set it aside when not necessary for the work at hand. As your comfort level increases in the use of the iPad as an instructional tool and as a learning tool, its integration into your curriculum will also increase.
3. You don't have all the answers, and students can help too: The fast pace of technological change requires us to be life-long learners. You simply can't start at the top, but must be ready to adapt when changes come. Students can be an incredible resource when you get stuck. They love to help you, and each other, and will have a sense of leadership and ownership in the learning process if you ask them for assistance. Take advantage of this built-in resource.
4. Learning from failure: Often when trying to introduce a new technology tool or strategy in our classroom, we run into a glitch, something that doesn't quite run right, or as we anticipated. It could be the tool is not ready for prime time, or it could be that we don't understand it comprehensively enough to implement successfully. It is important during these times to raise ourselves off the ground, dust off our trousers, and try again. Learning from failure is sometimes the best recipe for success.
5. The class might be a little louder than you are used to: A natural outcome of engaged learning is a classroom with more "noise". In general it's good noise, as students are actively involved in their learning. They are discussing the questions that need answering, the problems that need solutions, who takes on the different roles, what research is necessary, what should the end product look like? All of this involves discourse and interaction.