Students testing their knowledge of energy conservation by "living" in an online home and applying their learning.

Engaging and Supporting Kids Through Technology

One of my favourite moments to take in during a school day is watching kids as they become completely engaged in their learning.  I love to see their eyes light up, their facial expressions full of curiosity, and the buzz of interested voices in deep conversation.  It’s what teaching and  learning should be all about.

In our classroom, this experience often happens when kids build on and explore topics and concepts through the use of technology.  We are fortunate to have a SMART board and a set of laptops which we use on a regular basis to support our lessons.  It’s quite interesting to see the difference between how the students view and use technology now and how they did in the beginning, when everything was a novelty.  Through guided lessons on how to use technology to support our learning in constructive and meaningful ways, students moved away from simply wanting to play games to using it as a tool for research, independent reading, organizing their work, communicating with myself and their classmates, presenting projects and assignments in various creative formats, but of course, playing educational games is always an added treat!

Last week we had a metric conversion competition between each group by using an online game.  You would have thought you were watching the final of the World Cup of soccer with the cheering and excitement in the classroom.  Watching the teams work together to solve the metric conversions was a delight (they got extra points for demonstrating their cooperation skills) and I used it as an opportunity to assess their learning of the math concepts.

Using computers and laptops is just another way to add to the learning experience and it works when students become responsible for using technology at appropriate times and for appropriate reasons.  It’s not that I think we must have technology to teach engaging lessons and keep kids interested in their learning but in the reality we face today as educators, it sure is a very helpful tool!

Students use a laptop to read a newspaper story and discuss their ideas and opinions through guiding questions.

 

Students testing their knowledge of energy conservation by "living" in an online home and applying their learning.
A group uses recess time (their decision!) to work on a project involving the presentation of a PSA and brochure.
Photo of Sangeeta McCauley

Preparing students for their generation

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how much I count on technology on a daily basis. There’s a mental checklist running through my mind before the day even begins. Laptop for note- taking, check. iPhone with recorded message for students, check. SMART Board lesson set up, check.

Most recently, I’ve added the best one of all to this list: iPad to encourage higher-level thinking and problem-solving. CHECK!!! (no, I do not work for Apple on the side…).

I have used the iPad to teach my students a number of skills:

-how to make webs as a springboard to writing (using Popplet)

-how to use audio recordings to explain what they do when they choose the “right” books to read

-how to make puppet shows that re-enact some tough choices they have made in their lives (using Puppet Pals)

I’ve never been a huge fan of paper-pencil tasks because I see how they can sometimes limit students who have a lot to say and who are creative thinkers. By using technology to engage my students, not only am I getting a more accurate picture of what they can do, but I am also preparing them to be what we always talk about in teaching: critical thinkers.

Their generation will be asked to do more thinking, more analysis, more decision-making, so why not start now?

 

 

 

 

Photo of Carmen Oliveira

Finding Opportunities for Learning Outside the Classroom

This week we participated in an excellent real world learning experience outside the classroom (and it was almost free!).  My Grade5/6 class has been exploring biographies, memoirs, and looking at the features and format of recounts.  We have also been using our MacBooks to support our learning in various ways.  An opportunity arose to bring the two together by visiting an Apple store to learn how to create an iMovie in the form of a biography about each student.  The entire trip, including transportation, came to $1.50 per student.  It ended up being a meaningful, incredibly fun, and real world learning experience for everyone!

This year, our division is committed to creating as many of these powerful learning opportunities as possible for our students because the enthusiasm, eagerness, and results we see back in the classroom support the belief that applying concepts and new learning to real life experiences is what creates long-term understanding.

When you begin to explore all the possibilities to have students apply classroom learning and experience in a real world setting, with a little creativity and investigation, it’s amazing how many opportunities are out there!  The only expense our students had was the bus trip to the Apple store for $1.50.  In return they received lessons and support from a team at Apple, a free t-shirt, the opportunity to use the latest technology to create their iMovie, and a certificate of participation in the program!  It can’t get better than that!

Students working with the crew at Apple

 

 

Students watching their video biographies!