This year I have several pieces of technology that I am hoping to employ in the classroom this year. The one I've spent the most time prepping is the iPad that I bought with my PD money last year. I have plans to use this as a camera throughout the year (to document learning and provide feedback), to interact with students through their personal devices with Apps such as Socrative and Educreations and as a management tool (playing music and Kagan Apps). All of this is pretty exciting but a lot of it is on me alone as there is only 1 or 2 iPads in a classroom.
I am, however, in the fortunate position to be able to employ Chromebooks this year with every one of my students in Grade 7. I have never used a Chromebook before but have had a lot of practice with Google programs (Last year I went from having 2-3 Google Docs shared with me last to a Google Drive that was overflowing with my own creations and those shared with me by colleagues and students by December). I look forward to the challenge of incorporating these devices into my students' learning on a regular basis and making use of the many possibilities that are opened up by this opportunity.
Why use these technologies in the classroom? Why work with my grade 7 colleagues on the beginnings of a plan to encourage digital citizenship instead of simply banning them outright? I think the answers to all of these questions are fundamental to my philosophy on learning and my sense of responsibility as an educator. We can not simply ban students from technology because it complicates our classrooms. The technology is out their already and is complicating (while simplifying) our world. I believe that students must learn how to use these devices responsibly and it is my duty to provide an environment were students can experiment and learn about the etiquette, the dangers, the possibilities and the power of these tools.
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