As I was thinking about what I wanted to write for this blog entry, not much came to mind. Then I started to think about what the class is all about: Technololgy & Literacy. There are several things we learned in class about how we could use technology with literacy: ipads, digital storybooks, the I-spy activity, software programs, etc. I'm wondering how teachers could use technology with literacy if they didn't have the resources in their district. I know most teachers would not go out & purchase an ipad just because they don't have resources and wanted to use it in their classroom. What are some other ways to be creative in using technology that wouldn't be expensive if there were limited resources? The only thing I could really come up with was buying a stereo with headphones for a listening center-but even that is around $60. Not saying that teachers absolutely couldn't afford some of these things, but what are some inexpensive options, if any?
My brain is a bit fried for this week-and it's only Tuesday! Let me know if anyone has suggestions!
I could relate to your feelings of not knowing what to BLOG about and my colleague and I were just talking yesterday about looking up GRANTS to write because we would really like to have a computer lab just for fifth grade. I will tell somebody that there are all kinds of resources out there to copy and use. One of my literacy groups are reading a book and I typed in the title and all kinds of activities came up to use for this particular book. Then of course it gave me many ideas to build off of and so I felt much better about having one classroom reading four different books. I had conferences last week and this week I feel exhausted and I agree with you it is only Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteLow-cost is quite important today in these tight budget times. The one you mentioned was purchasing a stereo for $60, to listen to what? You could buy an iPod shuffle and load podcasts and books on it for $50. I just talked to a teacher yesterday and her principal is buying 8 teachers all ipads. Their job is to discover what can be done with them - share the ideas with the staff and the principal may buy more as a result. I guess if we don't keep "asking" and "looking" as Jo said, we'll continue with the classrooms we have.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good point. I've thought about this several times as well. It's really nice how the CTLT has different technologies that can be checked out. Does the local AEA provide that as well? That would be really convenient. I've also thought about the idea of asking parents to volunteer to let us use some technology devices they have. This is a very risky option and might not get a lot of responses, but it's something to consider. I would also expect the student to be extra careful with the technology, but it really should be no different than using the school's technology in that I would always expect them to handle it with extreme care. These were just a few ideas that I've thought of!
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