1:1 Techonology Initiative

Last week, in my Education courses for the semester, we worked in our content groups to create a hypothetical 1:1 technology initiative in our mock school. In the first class we worked together in our groups to write up a letter about our technology initiative. The purpose behind this letter was to be able to send it to families to inform them of the initiative, possible concerns they may have, and how it is beneficial. In our second class, we researched a plethora of student usage contracts that have been implemented in other schools in the area, and then we used our research as a reference to create our own. Here are the links to both the letter and the contract:

Mock Digital Literacy Letter
Technology Contract

 

By implementing technology into the classroom, we want students to be well prepared to handle technology in the real world by the time they graduate. In order to this, we hope to increase their skills in digital citizenship. We also hope they learn to be responsible with technology and use it in ways that are beneficial to learning. Our goal is that our students will see the opportunity in this integration and embrace the challenges that may come with it, as can be seen in both out letter and contract.

I am both nervous and excited about the use of technology in the classroom. With technology, there is the possibility that problems could arise. Some students may not have access to everything, it could easily become a distraction, it can be expensive, there can be technological issues, and I have to make sure I am knowledgeable with the technology in order to teach my students about it. However, these are all things that I will need to prepare for, as they are a reality. I can prepare for these problems by making sure to always have back up plans in case something doesn’t work as I thought it would for one reason or another.

With this being said, I do see the integration of technology in the classroom as an incredible opportunity for both the teacher and students if grasped and used properly. Technology can help in assisting students with a variety of different learning differences, increase opportunity for global communication, give students multiple options and ways of both seeing and doing assignments, prepare students for their future, and so much more. Because of this, it is my goal to integrate technology in my classroom wherever possible. I hope to mold my students into confident users in all areas of technology. With all of this being said, I think it is important to still use the traditional methods in the classroom as well, as it can spark students’ interests in different ways, and every student learns in their own ways. By creating this balance, I hope my students will be prepared for whatever their futures may hold.