Rearrange the Desks: Move the chairs to open their minds – I agree that seating can directly affect the mood of a classroom. Whenever I teach with the whiteboard at the side of the classroom, I encourage students to move to closer empty seats or even the floor while they take notes. Some students move just so they can sit on the floor. This eases the formality of a lesson and increases the flow of class conversations.
Big Ideas for Better Schools – The ideas mentioned in this article are great in theory. But as always, implementing them is usually where the bottleneck appears. As individual teachers, we have the power to apply the first seven suggestions. In fact, that belief is what brought me to this Master’s program in the first place. However, in order to put into practice the last four suggestions involving school and community, we must convince others of the value. Sometimes, that is not so easy. Getting the money and support from school board members, legislators, and even parents to implement calendar and/or construction changes can be difficult in a climate where education spending is not always the highest priority.
Counting on Computers shows how one school district in Chicago has overcome some of those money and support barriers. However, the article is almost ten years; I’d be curious to see how far the technology acquisition has come. This article is a nice segue into The Next Step, which deals with what we should do now that we have all those computers. The author deals with five key elements: vision, planning, faculty development, support, and assessment. I especially like the suggestion of a planning committee who are more concerned with a process than a finite plan. It reflects the flexibility of technology itself. The table showing time needed for teacher proficiency mirrors what I have found in my own experiences. Much of my own technology learning (until now) has been self-taught. In this time of instant technology, instant proficiency is also expected. As with any other tool, teachers need time to use technology and adapt their teaching to it.
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3 comments:
Seating is so easy, yet many teachers overlook it. I have noticed that when I take the time to assign seats at the beginning of the year and then periodically adjust my seating arrangements I have a lot less classroom management problems.
I agree with you Patti. To implement technology in a school you need planning and a lot of convincing. Not only your principal but your superintendent and the school board also. They think that having computers in the classroom and a computer lab means to integrate technology. There is a lot of follow up and updating afterwords.
I can relate to your comment about your students having to move to see the board. I moved into a classroom where the teacher didn't want to use the chalkboard so she had it move to the end of the classroom. I have a very narrow classroom so you can imagine what that would look like. So finally I purchased a few white boards to put on the wall in the front of the room and still had trouble because the classroom stretches so far that the kids at the ends of the tables can't see what's being posted in the middle of the room.
I also agree with your comment on the money and support from school board members is not always a high priority, but that's why we are in a program that we are in. Hopefully, someone will be brave enough to take this knowledge that they are getting from this program and go to the legislators and educate them on what is needed to successfully run a school in this day in age.
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