Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Square One
My long journey to achieving a masters degree is just beginning. I feel a sense of excitement followed by a sense of being overwhelmed. This path so far has started off a bit bumpy for my liking. However, the funny thing is that this would not be a technology degree if it ran smoothly! Despite a few bumps and bruises along the way, I am sure that this degree will be beneficial to the way that I teach everyday. In today's world I am being "out-smartted" by my students when it comes to technology. On one hand I am trilled at the amount of intelligence that they possess and on the other it worries me that I will not be able to teach effectively with times moving so quickly. My hope is that this degree will allow me to teach using methods other than PowerPoint. I love to teach science and my students enjoy it even more when technology is part of class. I would like to learn to pass the keyboard into their hands.
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Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI’m with you when it comes to excitement vs feeling overwhelmed in pursuing our MIT degree. But your comment, “this would not be a technology degree if it ran smoothly!” puts it all into perspective. I remember many years ago when I was teaching a computer based math course in a lab at MATC and one of my students was getting ready to pitch the monitor through the air. He was so frustrated!
But, I’m also with you when it comes to the hope of improving our teaching by using what we will learn in this program.
So, let’s keep trudging forward!
Don't forget Catherine that we always have a few tricks up our sleeves. For example, when my students are doing the whole, "Mrs. Perry, do you twitter?" (Twitter, ala my current definition is a type of laugh, you know the one in Mary Poppins where she makes fun of people's twittering laugh.) So my students probably expect the "No" coming from me but are usually taken aback when I say "No, but I facebook". They can't believe that I would be on facebook. This of course prompts the searches for me and the 5 new friend requests that I must ignore in the following 3-4 days but more importantly I feel that even if I don't know all the lingo and technology out there right now, there are plenty of things I currently know and do that are very up to date with my students. I'm still at the powerpoint stage too and although I've heard about all of these other opportunities at one time or another, I have never (until now) taken the step towards learning and incorporating some of these practices into the classroom. Sometimes I use excuses (our district doesn't have a budget for probeware and CBL's in science labs or I don't have time) but I think I've finally come to the realization that I don't have time for excuses or I and my teaching style will be outdated - if some of it isn't already!
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to follow up on your comments about the bumpy start. I haven't read a single blog yet that hasn't mentioned some sort of technical issue so we're all in this together!
All journeys begin with that first step. You are adding additional tools to your teaching "bookshelf" and hopefully, while cumbersome the first time you use them, you will find over time they come more naturally and with a sense of enjoyment and ability to engage the students in ways that we could not 10 years ago.
ReplyDeleteCathy, I feel the same way about teaching. When I can show them a new way to use these technology tools I can see their excitement. I enjoy exploring new software and discovering new ways to use them in my classroom. But many times I also feel frustrated when I do not have the time or the tools to use them. I hope this class goes well for you and you can slide the keyboard over.
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