An educator by the name of Clarence Fisher skyped in to our I4Ed class on Thursday, to discuss his views on the role of technology inside the classroom. Clarence is a grade 7 teacher up in Snow Lake Manitoba, where he has 28 students inside his homeroom. His visit was very brief because he could only Skype while his students were in phys-ed class, so it was nice that he was able to fit us in.
Clarence started his session by expressing that teachers in his first few years of teaching seemed afraid to change the way they should teach the curriculum. But in the last 10 years or so, it has been all about keeping the students engaged in lessons by trying all sorts of new things technology wise in the classroom. He explained that Manitoba has very high standards and outcomes, so it is important to get your students passionate about what they are learning throughout the school year.
Clarence feels that mobile learning plays a very important part in keeping the students engaged as much as possible, and so he welcomes lap tops into his room with open arms if it's going contribute in a positive way to their learning. "Kids should also create and not just consume," he feels that the ability to create in education has not been done well and so with more technology usage inside the class, this should help change that. Also, it will help make that connection to the "real world", which is becoming a bigger focus in many classrooms.
He went on to explain that school budgets in the province are getting quite smaller, so we must take advantage of the free resources that we have in front us. There are 1000 ways to get your hands on different kinds resources, so get out there and explore.
It was nice to hear from another educator who promotes exploring different ways of teaching and focuses on the importance of student engagement. Great Session.
I totally agree that students need to see a connection to the real world whether it is when they are using technology or just simple pen and paper. It student's cannot see the purpose and meaning behind what they are doing they will not see an interest in it.
ReplyDeleteGreat summary Tom!
Miss L
Miss L’s Whole Brain Teaching
Great summary Tommy. I agree with Mr. Fisher that it is important to engage students and as new teachers strive to teach differently then we were taught. Keeping students engaged and making learning meaningful will help students learn. Having students create work to be put online is a great way to get them engaged. I also find that students will work harder to create a better product when it will be posted online. Like Mr. Fisher said, we have to have our students create work not just consume things off the internet!
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