Not Your Mother's Classroom
Teachers Can Pull up Anything on Their Whiteboards
Forget blackboards or whiteboards. Sarah Prendergast, a high school algebra teacher at Manhattan’s N.Y.C. iSchool, says that she couldn’t live without her interactive Smart Board.
“It’s an essential tool for a modern classroom," she says. "Teachers are no longer wasting class time writing out long notes on the board; instead we can type them up beforehand and project them for the class. We also can bring up images from the Web or design charts. It also allows us to save a copy of the class notes and post them online as a student resource."
High-Tech Tools Are Available
There have never been more cutting edge tools available for kids to simply create the things in their imaginations. “A recent movement in schools has been to embrace the STEAM initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math),” says Blumberg. "Many schools are starting to build Makerspaces or FabLabs on site. A Makerspace is a place to make, tinker, ideate, invent, prototype, build, rebuild, craft, program, try things out and explore. … FabLabs are another term—both may also include 3-D printers, scanners, laser cutters and all sorts of tools.”
Classroom Lectures Are Available Anywhere
The most important tool that Prendergast says she uses is the free EduCreations app_._ "It is a video-creation app that is basically a video whiteboard that records what I write and say," she says. "I use it to create videos that cover the material for each lesson (for a student to watch if they were absent or maybe needed a second look at the material) and additional videos to accelerate the class."
Plus, Prendergast sees even more ways to get the most out of classroom time. "I’ve used these videos to create a flipped classroom a few times a week—which means the students watch a video at home, learning and practicing a skill for homework, and then we can do something more meaningful and hands-on in the classroom."
Interactive Textbooks Aid in Learning
As a district at the forefront of digital innovation in the classroom, Mooresville Graded School District (MGSD) in North Carolina has had the opportunity to pilot several resources early in its development.
“Some of the newest resources our students and teachers are utilizing and excited about are the new Discovery Techbooks (digital textbook replacements which provide content that helps teachers transition to digital learning) and Naviance College and Career Readiness Solutions__,__ (an American college and career readiness software provider that assists high school students with college and career planning)," says Tanae McLean, public information officer for MGSD.
And digital textbooks are much more than a simple eBook. They can include features such as movable diagrams, videos and interactive models.
Parents Can Get in the Loop
An important piece of making tech work for families is reaching out, and smart teachers are doing just that. “I started a monthly morning Tech Tuesdays for parents to come in and have coffee and ask questions about how we use the technology in schools and about anything else they wonder about, such as specific apps, privacy issues, parental controls, how to check the Web browser's history, etc.,” says Blumberg.
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Grades Are Available Online, Immediately
Technology makes it easier for parents to stay on top of their student's grades and is a great resource to see what assignment may be missing, but some parents can go overboard:
“Yes, I am definitely guilty,” confesses New York mom Kate. “I would say about 95 percent of my son’s homework assignments are posted online. … I find myself going online and checking to see if he's up-to-date with his assignments or if there are assignments that he needs to revise that he hasn't mentioned to me."
Prendergast suggests that parents pick one or two days a week to check grades.
