Thursday, June 27, 2019

Integrating Tech at Any Level of Experience


Each of the last seven summers, my partners and I have enjoyed teaching a class as Adjunct Professors for the College of Charleston here in SC.  Marc, Doug and I really look forward to this class.  We teach Teachers how to use technology as a tool to enhance their lessons.  We make clear that the Teacher is the most important part of the teaching element. 

The class is 48 hours; squeezed into 3 weeks, meeting Monday through Thursday from 8:00 am – Noon.  There were some homework assignments, but most of the work was done in the class.
We began a few years ago doing the class completely paperless using Google Classroom as our Learning Management System platform.  Not only are we able to model what we’d like to see them using at their schools, the teachers in the class are now empowered to take it on to the next level and their student will be the benefactors!
 
We teach some of the basic tools for presentation, collaboration, creativity, innovation, and problem solving. We teach them how to set up their own classes, use their content standards and infuse the ISTE Standards (International Society for Technology in Education).

Students did a comprehensive lesson plan, “Turned It In” in our Google Classroom, and used Google Sites to create a website for their classes to be used in the Fall. 

Here is what’s so cool about our class this summer:  We had a new hire that just graduated in May of 2019, and a teacher that will be starting her 47th year…two retirees and all kind of years of experience in between.  They all worked beautifully together.  Given the right situation and the right approach, teachers are NEVER too old to start learning how to integrate technology in the classroom.  Excitement was high for the start of another school year in August of 2019.  Cannot wait to see the ways this group will use their new skills!


Keith