Teachers: tech in the classroom — your take?

[Anonymous]

Teachers: I’d like to get your unfiltered opinion of the use of tech in the classroom as a teaching/pedagogical tool.

How do you use it?
Is it helpful? Effective? (Why/why not)

I’m especially interested in whether intentions align with reality / implementation… how did people imagine it would be used VS how is it actually used?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Reality of Chromebooks is that kids play with stuff other than the lesson.

When they had paper textbooks, they only could look at the textbook. Even if they were on the wrong page for some reason, they still were learning about that subject. Paper textbooks are better.

[Anonymous]

Smartboards are less irritating than laptops /tablets because the teacher controls the screen. The kids can’t be off-task any more than traditional lessons.

The irritating thing about smart boards is when the projector is on the cart, instead of the ceiling. Kids barely bumps the cart, and you need to do a quick reset, which disrupts the flow of the lesson.

Paper textbooks are much, much better than the teacher copying a million worksheets. Kids who are struggling can review a textbook with their parents or tutors (I taught a younger grade.) Graded papers get lost, and then parents email me because they don’t know how to find my newsletters on the portal.

[Anonymous]

We went from textbooks to workbooks. The. From workbooks to more custom worksheets. Now we are on chromebooks. Been a step down every time.

[Anonymous]

Textbooks are superior for learning. I hope people remember though, that handing a kid a textbook for the first time requires teaching them how to use it. So many kids never had a textbook in their lives. It's sad.

[Anonymous]

Technology is a huge waste of time. Our school has intermittent internet issues so we spend a lot of time trying to connect, restart, fix tech issues - sometimes more time is spent trying to get the tech right than actually teaching the subject.

[Anonymous]

My teaching has in some ways been vastly improved by technology because I can bring in photos and videos to build background knowledge, present diagrams for students to analyze, and pre-type questions students will ponder, to save what used to be me tediously writing on a board. But I think student use of technology, at least at the elementary level, has been a disaster. Students’ attention, fine motor, writing, spelling, and reading skills have declined sharply at my school since we began one to one during the pandemic. Our classrooms are much louder, more chaotic, and less learning focused than they were ten years ago. If I had my druthers we would go back to having a couple of computers for students to use as a station when absolutely necessary, and that’s it.

New teachers know nothing but technology in the schools, and don’t see the skills our students are missing nor what a truly focused classroom looks and sounds like.

All just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

It's a gimmick for poor teachers to spend time on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reality of Chromebooks is that kids play with stuff other than the lesson.

When they had paper textbooks, they only could look at the textbook. Even if they were on the wrong page for some reason, they still were learning about that subject. Paper textbooks are better.

It’s so sad. We’ve lost so much.

When did the shift away from textbooks happen? And have you seen a difference in kids learning and performance / outcomes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The irritating thing about smart boards is when the projector is on the cart, instead of the ceiling. Kids barely bumps the cart, and you need to do a quick reset, which disrupts the flow of the lesson.

Super interesting. Does this happen often?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Kids who are struggling can review a textbook with their parents or tutors (I taught a younger grade.) Graded papers get lost, and then parents email me because they don’t know how to find my newsletters on the portal.

Fascinating, I hadn’t even thought about that! I have two second graders and this happens all the time. We have to track all these loose papers and it’s hard to follow what’s happening week on week, or look back on or reference previous work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went from textbooks to workbooks. The. From workbooks to more custom worksheets. Now we are on chromebooks. Been a step down every time.

Can you say a bit about what you think was lost each time? I think this is right on, and would like to understand the impact that you observed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Textbooks are superior for learning. I hope people remember though, that handing a kid a textbook for the first time requires teaching them how to use it. So many kids never had a textbook in their lives. It's sad.

Omg I never thought about this…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Technology is a huge waste of time. Our school has intermittent internet issues so we spend a lot of time trying to connect, restart, fix tech issues - sometimes more time is spent trying to get the tech right than actually teaching the subject.

All interrupting the flow and focus of the class. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teaching has in some ways been vastly improved by technology because I can bring in photos and videos to build background knowledge, present diagrams for students to analyze, and pre-type questions students will ponder, to save what used to be me tediously writing on a board. But I think student use of technology, at least at the elementary level, has been a disaster. Students’ attention, fine motor, writing, spelling, and reading skills have declined sharply at my school since we began one to one during the pandemic. Our classrooms are much louder, more chaotic, and less learning focused than they were ten years ago. If I had my druthers we would go back to having a couple of computers for students to use as a station when absolutely necessary, and that’s it.

New teachers know nothing but technology in the schools, and don’t see the skills our students are missing nor what a truly focused classroom looks and sounds like.

All just my opinion.

This is such a good point and an insightful distinction: using tech as a tool for the teacher VS for student use.

And your point about new teachers is tragic… like… IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE THIS WAY (and wasn’t)