Sunday, May 13, 2012

Could you survive without a computer in your classroom?


This is my first blog post!  I am a Spanish teacher in Ashland, MA.  I would like to comment on the shift of technology since I first started teaching.  I only started teaching 9 years ago and there have been so many significant changes.  

I first started teaching in 2003 on Long Island, NY.  I taught in a large school with about 2500 students.  I taught in 3 different classrooms and there was not a single computer in any of the classrooms.  I did not communicate with my students, colleagues or with parents via email.  We did most of our communicating in person or via “memos.”  I used the one office phone to communicate with parents.  I never used email.  

Now, I can’t imagine my life as a teacher without a computer in my classroom.  I don’t know what I would do!  I use email for everything and countless other websites to communicate with my colleagues, students, friends and family.  I am never without my smart phone and I am almost always connected to some sort of technology.  I have not had much of chance to reflect on these changes and I look forward to hearing some of your comments.  Would you be able to survive without a computer in your classroom??

4 comments:

  1. Honestly, I can't tell you how many times I said I would like to go back to the dark ages without computers, at least as an educator. This is usually said in jest after receiving a parent email. I just hate how parents believe we should be available around the clock. I would prefer to meet face-to-face or talk on the phone. So many times parents say whatever they feel like via email, yet they wouldn't have the gall to say it in person. We end up receiving very demanding or even angry emails over thins that can be resolved easily through conversation.

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  2. Parents tend to feel we should be available around the clock whether it is by e-mail or by phone. I find this humourous because they themselves were once students. Don't you think they would understand that nearly every minute of ours is occupied by attending to student needs? Yet the brain forgets....My mother thinks I only work two days a week. It hasn't been *that* long since I was out of school (and we went five days a week)!

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  3. I agree that technology has made both a positive and negative impact in communicating with parents. The idea that we are always "on call" is very frustrating. However, I do like the fact that I can quickly shoot a parent an email with grade updates rather than spend time with them on the phone.

    As a parent, I hope that I can remember that my kid's teachers have many, many students. I hope to NOT waste their time with mindless emails!

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  4. I like having direct access and communication with parents. I think there is a self-regulation that must be in place to say as little as needed in email to get a point across. This often involves only answering actual questions and providing a simple 'thank you' for all other input. If a parent is just venting, I think it is possible there is nothing there that needs a response, except to say 'I got your message.'

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