Teaching With Technology

One thing I do to teach students to learn by using technology is a focus my plans around the objectives. After I have a guideline I allow the students to use their creativity to manipulate and design whatever they want in order to show mastery. I give students choices to allow for individualized products and assignments. I also make sure to show students just how important collaborating is. My students often meet online to create products together that demonstrate mastery of a standard. They love the freedom and the complexity of creating a product together.
We can teach them to demonstrate their mastery/understanding when they aren't given explicit requirements through modeling and examples. Ultimately, it is very hard for students to complete an assignment that doesn't have explicit requirements. We must show students through working together that assignments can be creative and unstructured but still result in learning. Getting students involved in the modeling will help to lead students to the right track.

Classroom Management Challenges

Which of these best describes your current classroom/professional development atmosphere?

Is it possible for you to reach the third level?

If not, why?

If so, what resources are needed to reach this goal?

Currently in my 1:1 classroom I model appropriate behavior. As a teacher I have always walked around the room, engaged in discussion with students about what they are working on and how they are doing with the assignment at hand. This has not changes since I received my iPad's. I feel that currently we are between the second and the third level as described in the article "Freedom, digital distraction and control". Although we can monitor their sites and app usage through out technology department, we often choose to allow the students to self-monitor their own use. We do this because it is teaching the students to be prepared for real world distractions. I often model how to not let an email notification bother me. One thing students have had a hard time adjusting to is that they do not have to answer and look at every email as soon as they get it. As a use my computer to demonstrate lessons, the students sometimes hear my email notification go off. I do not let that distract me and take away from the lesson. I make it known that I only check my email three times a day, not in between. Modeling appropriate behavior and allowing students to practice it on their own is essential. 

I feel that it is extremely possible to reach the third level. My students are very independent as fourth graders, they know that it is their responsibility to finish assignments on time. My students could use Google Drive to create a to-do list in order to keep them motivated and on task. Another resource we could use is utilizing tech breaks. Modeling appropriate behavior and understanding when you should have a tech break could lead us to the third level.