A Day in the Life with Technology
Technology continues to play a major role in my life. As a high school math teacher, I rely on computers to store my lesson plans, videos, and worksheets. Technology continues to evolve and there are more apps available to assist students and teachers in their education journeys.
Similar to the majority of my students, I use my cellphone to capture special moments (pictures and videos), to read articles or watch videos to learn, and to communicate with others through texts, phone calls, and social media. Cell phones have become our lifelines and we bring them everywhere we go. I often reflect on my childhood (before cell phones were popular) and wonder how we could go back in time without technology. As frustrating as it can be at times, technology allows us to access information quickly and efficiently.
Online platforms such as Google Drive and Google Classroom have been my “go-to” choices allowing me to create, edit, and post classroom resources with ease. I always give my parents the invite code to join Google Classroom so they can see the reminder messages I send out weekly and they can access their child’s daily lessons/activities. These platforms have been amazing to use as a teacher. I like knowing my resources can be accessed quickly and shared with others.
What does a day in the life with technology look like for me?
I have always made my lesson plans into a presentation-style format via Google Slides. It keeps me on task and allows me to work through practice problems one at a time with my students. I can add pictures to my presentation that relate to the content we are learning. I can also add links to YouTube videos or other resources as needed. Just recently, my projector stopped working, and my administrators bought me a TV for my classroom. As a high school math teacher, I needed to be able to interact with the TV to work through math problem step-by-step. I found a neat APP called Annotate that allows me to interact with my iPad, and an apple pencil. It also allows me to record a live lesson for those students who missed class that day. I can upload these videos on Google Classroom or YouTube for my students to access easily.
I have also been using various online platforms for quick formative check-ins and summative assessments. A few of these platforms I use include: FlipGrid, Quizizz, google forms, and ZipGrade. These platforms have SAVED ME SO MUCH TIME with marking and photocopying, and have been very user-friendly. Teaching math can get very repetitive so I have been incorporating math games into my unit plans. Some online math games that my students enjoy are jeopardy, escape rooms, and kahoots. I am able to reuse these platforms every semester and can quickly add/edit questions that are suitable for my students and the different classes I teach.
Even though I am constantly using technology to plan and prepare lesson plans, deliver/instruct my lessons, and (sometimes) use it to evaluate my students quickly, I really do NOT enjoy having my phone on me 24/7 as I find it to be distracting. As I am teaching, I want to be focused on my students and be present with what we are doing in the moment. I rarely sit at my desk and go through emails or check my phone for notifications during the workday. Because I am walking around helping my students or going through extra practice problems on the board, I will often miss important messages from my administrators or parents during class time. As difficult as it is to keep up with communication throughout the day, I hope people understand that I will respond to emails/text messages when I have time. In the world we live in today, people expect immediate responses. No longer are the days where you wait hours for a phone call or a letter in the mail with important information.
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Hi Sarah!
I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with technology in your math classroom. We’ve had to replace some of our old Smart Boards with TV’s recently as well and it’s been frustrating to lose the interactive features that we’ve grown used to. Unfortunately, we just don’t have the funds in our budgets to keep up with the costs of replacing the tech anymore. Your workaround with your iPad and Apple pen sounds like it has helped a lot! I think teachers are some of the most creative people around when it comes to finding ways to make tech work for us and our students.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I also rely very heavily on online tools in my classroom. I would be completely lost without my laptop and steady internet access.
You also noted that you remember a time before cell phones. This was something I thought about while writing my own blog post. A world without cell phones or really any form of technology is a bit of a scary thought to me!
Thanks again for the insights!
Hi Sarah,
Your post is amazing to read. I can relate to some of your thoughts. Sometimes I can not think a day without my cell phone. Few years back we had a power cut and we spent eight hours without using cell phones, watching reels or going through random staffs. I was wondering what did we do to pass our time and how did we reach people! That day I realized how technology changed perspective towards dealing our life everyday.
Thank you for sharing this detailed post, Sarah! Your use of technology in the classroom, from Google Drive and Classroom to interactive tools like Annotate and Apple Pencil, showcases a dynamic approach to teaching. I appreciate your honesty about the distractions technology can bring and your efforts to stay present with your students. How do you think educators can best balance the use of technology with maintaining personal interactions in the classroom?