I have started my student teaching assignment in a 5th grade CTT classroom. I do not have a lot of experience with technology - I find that in the classroom I am unable to work the projector, much less the smart board. Unfortunately, the teachers I work with seldom use the smart board and I was hoping to learn how to use it by watching them in action with the students. There are two computers in the classroom and have only seen it in use in two instances. Once it was used to find articles to replace the ones the students were using since the article turned out to be unrelated to their assignment. I thought it was wonderful that the teacher was able to find articles to help the children continue with their writer’s workshop assignment. I know that in the past the teachers would have had to continue the writer’s workshop another day so that they could find an appropriate article. The in-class computers helped the teacher accomplish two things quickly: 1) show the students how to look up an article and 2) allowed the teacher to save time and energy looking for articles that her students could use on the spot. The second use for the computer is during our Read Aloud period. There is one student, who has an IEP, who is unable to sit and listen to the story we are currently reading and he is allowed time on an educational website. I can appreciate how the computer allows the child to move from an uncomfortable situation and be placed in an environment where he feels comfortable but is also being challenged mentally.
I find the above uses for the computers to be great but I know that they are not being utilized to their full potential. I am looking forward to seeing how I can become tech savvy and integrate useful concepts like UDL to help the students in my future classroom, mostly ELLs and children in special education.
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