My experiences with technology

I have been using technology for a number of years in the classroom. Judging by what the text book authors are saying, I am probably not an early adapter, but I am definitely more engaged than the dismal picture presented in chapter 1o. Here are some of the ways I've used technology.

1. Electronic grade book (required by current county school system).

2. Student research and oral presentations. I have come to prefer oral reports to written ones because too much of the written work is copied without any thought. A well done PowerPoint aided presentation, especially where students are limited in number of words per slide and they need to explain the pictures they choose, helps me gauge their understanding.

3. My current school allows use of TurnItIn.com to check for copying. This is useful for research reports and lab reports.

4. For one year, I used an ActivBoard in my room.

5. Participated in field testing of National Geographic programs where students collected data and shared this with other classes across the country.

6. Started using clicker systems this year for quick classroom feedback during lecture/discussion.

7. Used remote sensing information on line for Science Olympiad events.

8. Dabbled with GIS systems to deal with environmental questions when program first came out about 12 years ago.

9. Use probes, especially motion detectors and pressure sensors in lab work.

10. Am somewhat limited with how online resources can be used in school. School filter and blocking software prohibit importation of many useful resources. While wanting to use web to distribute readings, I can't assume students can access internet from home. School acceptable use policies are really designed to protect the county network more than they are to foster education. I understand how much trouble can be caused when students load unauthorized material onto the network

11. My current chemistry text has online simulation labs which look interesting but I haven't used.