This past week has been very stressful and overwhelming for me as I finished setting up my classroom. Today was my first day of teaching. I didn't realize it until now, but there is not enough time in one day! It feels good to finally have the job I've been working towards for so long. Teaching is definitely a lot more work than I thought, even with all of my practicums and student teaching.

I've been going around my building observing the use of technology in classrooms. What I found the most use of, with no surprise, were teachers using an elmo. As strange as it seems, kids are actually engaged by the elmo. I'm not sure if this is because it's something different that they don't get to see all the time or because they actually use it hands-on, but I could clearly see that the students were focused. This led me to thinking about all the teachers that have elmos just sitting in their rooms gathering dust. Why not use it? It doesn't hurt to try. It doesn't even have to be a transparency-it's just a paper magnified so the whole class can see. I was also thinking of literacy centers and thought of a way to incorporate the elmo into poetry. The students could have a poem and put in on the elmo to point to & read. There could be 3-5 students in that center group and some of them could be pointing/reading on the paper while the others are following along and reading as it's projected. I'm sure there are many other creative ideas that have been done with the elmo. I'm still trying hard to have a TPACK mindset and not a technocentric one!

My Exciting News

Today, I found out that I got a first grade teaching position!! I couldn't be more excited, anxious, nervous and thankful! I start next Monday (9/20), so the rest of this week will be very busy getting my classroom set up. I am interested to get to know the curriculum and the first grade team I will be working with.

I have a very good friend who also teaches first grade in another city in Iowa and I'm already thinking about ideas for ways our classes could collaborate on activities. I truly learned a lot last week from the TPACK approach, so right now I am focusing on the content. There is a lot to think about right now, but I am hoping that eventually my friend and I can work something out for our students. I am also very excited to learn more in 556 about technology & literacy and how I can effectively use them in my new classroom.

Integrating Technology in General

Integrating technology into the classroom can be a struggle for a lot of teachers. Especially if teachers are older, they are sometimes afraid to try to do anything using technology that they aren't familiar with. If El Ed students don't have educational technology classes in college, they too might be skeptical about integrating technology into lessons.

If the teacher can keep in mind the objective of the lesson they want to plan/teach and the standards that they are trying to meet, integrating technology should be easier. On the first day of 556, we used Wordle. There can be numerous ways that this could be integrated into a lesson. This particular application shouldn't take too long, as some teachers might fear. Integrating technology doesn't have to be a long process. It can be something as simple as listening to a story on a CD. When the teacher begins to feel more comfortable, maybe he/she could take on a bigger project using technology.

Maybe the answer to getting more teachers to use technology is to have workshops in schools about different ways to integrate technology into the curriculum. Any other thoughts on ways to help teachers feel more comfortable with technology in the classroom?