Our group has two stories about technology, one positive and one negative. The positive story from one group member is when she was in elementary school using technology. Her teacher would let the class play an English game on the computer if they finished activities. The game required an individual to do an activity in each room of a haunted mansion. In order to move onto the next room, the player had to pass the game in the room. Each game taught a different type of grammar. Once you had passed the games in all rooms you had all the clues to solve the puzzle. This was great because it allowed the students to do a fun activity with their free time which not only taught them grammar but also encouraged them to get their work done early. This was a great use for technology in the classroom.
The negative story was also in elementary school. Our group member remembers having computers in her classroom, but no computer lab. The computers were a reward for finishing their work early. Unfortunately, she hardly ever finished early; therefore, she never got to use the computer. It made her hate computers because she thought it wasn't fair. Once the first three students went to the computers, she couldn't even focus on her own work. It wasn't until she got her own computer in her house, that she fell in love with technology. There were so many better ways that this teacher could have handled the use of the computer, but she was probably afraid of them herself!
Katie Hohl
Yesenia Cuellar
Michelle Richardson
Brooke Bradley
The positive and negative experiences were very similar stories portraying different points of view from the students. One student benefited from the teacher allowing students to use technology as a reward when work was finished. It encouraged them to complete work quicker. The other student was not able to receive the reward because they took more time to complete their work. The second student was distracted by the fact that the computer was being used by other students and not by themselves. The teacher should have also considered some students may rush through their work and not do the best they could in order to use the computer. If I were the teacher I would improve the situation by creating a reward system that encouraged students to put a lot of effort into their work not complete it as quickly as possible. For example if a student were to receive an “A” on an activity, they would receive two reward points. Or if a student showed great team work skills during a group activity, they could receive reward points as well. The points could then be turned in for time on the computer. This time could be used at different times throughout each day. There would be many opportunities for every student to receive points without having to rush through work. Also, it would encourage students to do their best on their class work.
ReplyDelete