Hey there friends!
Welcome to week four’s blog post! This week’s prompt was focused on dealing with participation with technology in the classroom.
I think classroom participation now is honestly going to be much more challenging than before. With kids having phones much sooner than before, and a majority of classrooms having the option to use laptops in class, technology can be much more distracting than even when I was in high school. As my grandpa would word it, back in my day we had big, blocky computers in the computer room that were fairly easy for the teacher to monitor since they were all facing the center of the room. Even then, we would still find a way to sneakily play Tetris or Solitaire. With many schools now having laptop carts, it can be much easier to hide the screen from the teachers since they can sit at their desks. It can become a distraction and cause participation to lessen. I feel when it comes down to it, it is up to the classroom teacher to have a set of rules when it comes to the technology in the classroom so that it is ensured the technology is helping the students, and not hindering them.
Until next time!!
~ Dallas ~
Hey Dallas,
Older generations will always look back at the younger generation and think they will suffer because of things they do that we never did when we were growing up. I believe this is something that remains the same as decades go on. We didn’t have tablets or computers when I was young, but we still found ways to not pay attention by passing notes and playing MASH or doodling.
You are correct in saying it will be up to the individual teachers. We will have to be engaging and intentional with our classroom management techniques and our classroom rules and expectations!
-Amanda
Hi Dallas, I think your points were very interesting. As someone who as grown up with majority of this technology, it seems normal to me. However, when working at my job with the students…it is shocking to hear how many students have phones in grade 2 or 3! I did not have a phone till almost grade 8, so I can definitely agree with you when you mentioned that students’ use of technology can become a distraction. I find that when students have a device from a younger age, they are more familiar with what the device has on it (or what they can find or search up), which can sometimes lead to distractions on school laptops or computers. I also believe that future teachers will have to incorporate their own procedures and rules for these technologies or these tools could be more of a disruption then a benefit.