Technology & the Reluctant Teacher November 8, 2007

Have you worked in a school where some teachers have a lot of knowledge regarding technology?  Now think about the teacher who would much rather use paper and pencil in a heartbeat than turn on a computer?  Do you know any teachers who are reluctant to implementing technology in their everyday lives? Tonight in class, I read an article in Education World called Encouraging Teacher Technology Use, that includes ideas for incentives to get teachers involved in implementing technology IN their instruction.

What are your thoughts about incentives to teaching/implementing technology in your classroom?  What if you were told you had to implement technology in your class with at least three computer lab visits within a six week period, use your technology cart to project a lesson onto the big screen at least twice a month, etc.???  How about demonstrating the use of technology in one of your observations? 

So I ask ~ Would you follow through or more likely to become the reluctant teacher?

Please share your thoughts through comments.

BrainPOP November 8, 2007

Our school was just updated with technology, not completely up to date but much better than what we did have access to.  While exploring, I noticed BrainPOP.  I’ve heard other classmates talk about BrainPOP as a great, educational resource for all subject areas but didn’t actually explore it personally.  However, I was curious about BrainPOP so I checked it out.  Since I work with students in the primary grades, I also checked out BrainPOP Jr. which had great games and resources that you can use in school and at home.  For some of the games, you do need to have a subscription but most of the games I explored, I was able to access and play without being a member.  The games are colorful, attractive and fun!  I like how the games are “challenging” as they’re not always straight forward answers as thought has to be processed to respond to the games and/or quizzes offered.  There are also great lesson plans (like seasons, basic adding, etc.) and videos ~ even & odd numbers.  There’s a free 5-day trial, if your school does not hold a membership or you can subscribe and pay for your own subscription.  What a great tool to get students motivated about learning in all subject areas!  What are you waiting for…check it out!