On the spectrum of where I am with technology - beginning, intermediate, or advanced- I would have to confidently say "intermediate". I can navigate around what I need to and am not afraid to experiment and try new things with technology, however, I have so much more to learn.
St. Wenceslaus is a small, rural school- Preschool-6th. We have a teaching staff of 4, yes FOUR, and you guessed it- we lack a technology specialist or even someone at our school that is technology "advanced". We muddled through updating our technology with the purchase of iPads, projectors, document cameras, and upgraded our computers to MacBooks. We are not a 1:1 school but that is a goal of ours in the long-term. With the upgrade you would think (or I thought) that we would be smooth sailing and our kiddos would be on the road to being high level learners on that technology highway. I could picture project collaborations, diversified learning, real-world applications, and responsibility for individualized learning. What a wonderful picture!
Top 10 Reasons Todays Students Need Technology
Well, needless to say, that technology highway is leading us in the right direction but has not always been so smooth. A few bumps in the road were expected and others hit us quite unexpectedly. Listed below are a few of the bumps that we met along the way.
1) Apple ID's and "the cloud"- The day that the iPads came in and opening them up in all their splendor was a great day. However, figuring out that an Apple ID can only be used with 10 devices was another story. And the cloud- I still don't quite understand the cloud and can't figure out why it never has enough storage.
2) Printing from the ipad- Had to purchase an AirPrint printer!
3) Storing and charging the iPads. Brilliant use of old record holders. The iPads fits perfectly into the slots and we are able to charge them together.
4) Technology Integration- This is still an ongoing issue for us. How do you go from only gaming apps to integrating tech into lesson plans on a regular basis? I want my staff to know and understand that technology use is more than just a time filler by using gaming apps.
5) The Wireless Network- Our wireless network was not able to handle the addition of 12 MacBooks. This means that currently a class cannot be working wirelessly on the internet all at the same time. FRUSTRATING for students and for teachers. We are currently working on this issue with the help of the new Tech Director of the Archdiocese and looking into updating our whole infrastructure.
We will get there- having a plan for integration should have been our first step. We stepped into this half-blind and our learning curve has been huge! We now have a plan and we are working our way through it.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your journey with us. We can all learn so much when we share our stories. What a great idea for the old record holders. Keep sharing this great ideas.
It is so hard not to have technology be the driver and have learning/ student outcomes be the driver, but understanding the need for that is the first step and you have identified that as one of your goals.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post. Especially, topic number four on technology integration. I feel the same frustrations. We either using gaming apps or we use the iPad as note-taking device only. It is a delicate balance.
It feels as though we are in a whirlwind of technology and learning how to use it still, and our school is in the fourth year of 1:1 to iPad technology. We still have issues with "Cloud", air print, and gaming in year four. Undoubtedly, the air print will be out when papers are due.
Thanks, Jason. I'm glad we are not the only school having some technology issues! I think a technology director or coordinator might be an essential staff position that will need to be added to staff.
DeleteStacy,
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to be in class with you once again, you have excellent ideas and provide good input. I really had to chuckle as I read you blog, because I could picture the situations as you listed them. What a great idea for old record storage racks! I also have battled with the cloud and apple so I can empathize on that problem. I would put myself as an intermediate level person with technology as well, I love to learn about it when given the opportunity as well. I think that technology is such an important issue that we all will face as building administrators, without the knowledge of it our school will fall behind. I am excited to learn about technology and hope we all learn a great deal from each other. Thanks for sharing with us. Have a great week.
Glad to have you in class again as well! Good luck on your first module.
DeleteDear Stacy, thank you so much for sharing your insights and experiences! You have a strong, distinctive writer's voice, and I really enjoyed your post. My little sister's school is 1:1 with iPads, and it's fascinating to learn about how her classes are making use of this technology. As you caution against in your post, it's easy to underutilize the tablets' potential. I'm researching Technology Integration for my first module, too, and I look forward to learning more on this subject with you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura. Since starting to follow Twitter, I have found there is so much out there on technology integration. Almost like input overload! Good luck on your research.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Stacy! Looks like you all have your work cut out for you in terms of getting those iPads set up, but it also looks like you are figuring it out just fine! Once you tackle those difficulties, I'm sure everything else will fall into place easily. Looking forward to hearing some more about this!
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