It has been really fun learning how to use some of the technology in or room over the past few weeks. I have learned a lot about the Promethean Board and continue to learn more about how to use this tool as interactively as possible. Since we began our year with only an overhead projector, I am also really able to appreciate the benefits of having tools like the interactive whiteboard. My favorite part about it is that we can save our thinking and charts from the previous day and add on to them as lessons progress. I have a whole flipchart devoted to our author study and it includes stuff the kids and I did 6 weeks ago all the way up to what we worked on yesterday. I can go back and pull up our work from before easily and without wasting tons of chart paper.
Another tool that I'm hoping to work with more are the ipads. Unfortunately, we don't have a classroom set, but Diane allows students to bring in electronic devices from home to use during math differentiation time. I would like to learn more about the app choice for math, because I think right now , much of this differentiation time is being wasted and there are probably more useful educational tools and sites that kids could be using.
You should read the post I wrote in response to Nicole's blog about today's prompt. I'll add to what I said to her by pointing out that your use of the Promethean board is a great example of how technology can make teaching more effective. Rather than just substituting one approach for another (Powerpoint slides vs. overhead transparencies, for example), the Promethean board improves the way teaching and learning happen. It's truly a tool, not a flashy entertainment trick(although maybe there's a touch of that, too, in the way you create narrated slide shows of the Northeast U.S. and weave in video clips from old episodes of I Love Lucy!) It's all good :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm emailing everyone a pdf of a document I saved earlier this year--recommended iPad apps for educators. I'm sure it's already outdated, but there are several math apps that might give you a start on what's available, since you were wondering about resources.