I like the interactive whiteboards in our English block. I like the software we use with them, although it could be improved by our ICT team upgrading to the latest version, and I like the powerful range of activities it provides.
There are some problems with IWBs though:
The expense (£2k ish)
We combine them with old-fashioned dry-wipe [...]
Read the rest...
Dan on January 17th, 2010
One of the things that I struggle with on an almost daily basis is that, as an English teacher, nearly all the activities and exercises we do should be based in the real world. We are teaching students a communication skill that will benefit them in every way no matter what paths they take in their life, yet I find myself setting tasks, activities and milestones that have little, if any, practical application outside of school.
Why write a persuasive leaflet about drugs when they could be doing something important them, in a context that actually means something? In ENGB1 the students who get the best marks are those who write something that could be published in the real world, but is also something that really gets them fired on all cylinders.
I was just in the process of updating my blogroll when I stumbled across The Innovative Educator via Doug Belshaw and an entry caught my eye: Finding Authenticity: Publishing with Wikipedia. What a fantastic idea. Relevant to the students, relevant to the school and relevant to the curriculum. A great example of project based learning (PBL) that are trying hard to develop in school.
(Sorry this wasn’t about technology, but it kinda is)
Dan on January 17th, 2010
I removed my blog when I first started teaching, and I’ve decided to resurrect it for the time being.
The school I work at is currently going through BSF and as part of the ‘Transformational Learning Group’ I went down to BETT 2010 yesterday. On the train journey home I found myself musing about both the technology that was on show, and the uses for it in the classroom. There are many issues surrounding this and I realised I’d left BETT with more questions than answers.
I find myself constantly reminding myself that with only two years of teaching experience there are many things I need to learn, and many problems and solutions I simply cannot see. I hope to use this blog to muse about some of the technology I saw that could have a potential use in our school and in my classroom and to, hopefully, engage in debate with other users and musers.
Expect a few BETT 2010 related posts in the next few days.
