In a Perfect World...

It would be ideal if schools had all the money they needed to provide children with an adequate education and the military needed to hold bake sales to buy another bomber, but that is not the case. It is becoming increasingly frustrating that teachers are expected to do more and more with less and less. What is so ironic is that with some investment in technology into schools, so many problems would be solved. Schools that endow money into themselves are really putting it into their students. Providing adequate training to teachers on technology that is present in schools is another way that schools would be looking into their own best interests. Without moving forward and giving teachers and students the chance to “upgrade” their teaching and learning, we are holding ourselves back.

Each website that I explored this week required basic computer skills in order to navigate it. I know people my age who couldn’t figure it out, and I know people half my age who would also need help with it – and they’re the ones who are supposed to know how! As for its use in a classroom, I am going to suppose that I am teaching a class called “Writing Across the Curriculum” for undergraduates. I would have these students use many of the websites listed, as there is such a vast array of choices and hours of information worth exploring. I want to group the students by specialty. Each group would have the mainstays; English, Math, Social Studies, and Science. The teachers would be required to teach about the same topic, just specific to their field. For example, if the English teacher was teaching, “The House on Mango Street,” then the Social Studies teacher would be working on the history of Hispanics and Latinos. The math and science teachers would be working on social contributions of that race as well.

I would suggest the use of www.readwritethink.org and www.thinkfinity.org to the undergrads, but I would also have them play around with the rest of the sites sorted into each section. There is such a wealth of information and websites on that page that it can be beneficial to any teacher, at any stage in their career. Readwritethink.org has lesson plans that can be tweaked to suit even the lowest of learners in a heterogeneously-grouped classroom, yet it can also satisfy the savvy, on-top of it all learner. I have used it in the past and have found the graphic organizers and vocabulary lessons helpful with introductions to writing assignments and anticipation conversations for new novels. I am just getting to know thinkfinity.org, but it looks as if it can be helpful. Right now it’s got a “hot topic” question up there about what 5 items you would buy for your school (technology-wise) if you were allowed to (no monetary limit.) It is approaching the time of year when I had my students write controversial topic essays. I like to have more topics than abortion, steroids, and euthanasia. I’d have liked the kids (in a disadvantaged neighborhood) to get passionate about what they should be exposed to in terms of technology and what the world is going to be like for them in the next few years. This topic would have got them going, and when they get revved up about something, they get zealous! I’m sure the papers would have been better this year than last, because the exposure to more websites for me would be good for them, no more just looking at lists of information, now they can watch videos and listen to podcasts to help create a piece of work. That is the ultimate gift to them – to watch their eyes light up and a smile come across their face as they realize that they just learned something.