Masters In Education
While teaching for the next two years, I’ll be attending Seton Hall one weekend a month for a degree and certification in teaching. This weekend marks the start of that program. The class is called Becoming a Teacher II: Technology.
Anyway, I swear to you my professor just asked, “Now, what does the right button of the mouse do?”
We’re supposed to all be getting comfortable with computers for our students. You know, be able to explain what a “blog” is or a “URL”. It’s just so fucking terribly ironic that this professor thinks we’re not young enough to know these things.
I’m going to put together a technology survey for my middle school students to see what they have to work with at home. I was thinking about getting them signed up at BlogSpot or even running some Google Wikis for collaboration. Each grade can create a wiki out their entire year’s content. Their very own online math textbook, you know? Maybe I’ll have them create Podcasts about certain math reports.
Basically the big idea here is to have them submit some activities using technology. Right now, I have laptops in my classroom, but we just use this one program, Compass Learning, for now. I want them to start using the Internet.
I just wish this professor would push through the computer literacy crap and give me the meat already. I’m in Jubilee Hall if you want to put me out of my misery and deploy some missiles for me.
And yes, I’m tapping theScrabbled for ideas, if you have any.
Comments
failure to use the AsktheScrabbled tag!
i don’t think i could ever get through one of those computer literacy classes. do you have internet access during it so you can fuck around while the guy teaches basic keyboard shortcuts? are you posting this from that actual class??
I do I do!
Paris, that wiki idea is brilliant.
I think the kids would get into it. I’m pretty sure Google Wikis has nice permissions control too. The sooner I figure this all out the better. We already started covering math topics, so I must move soon.
Warning, though: nothing kills an online community like lack of participation. You’ve gotta get that thing up and rolling with a few dedicated users from the get go or else it’ll flounder and die.
Well, if I give them the work as assignments that will be graded, then they better do it. That’ll get ’em.