Teachers, I want to know your opinions on technology at school

[Anonymous]

We created teachers who have asked during outages - “How can I teach?”

Not exaggerating

You should have seen my principal’s face!

[Anonymous]

School librarian. Access to the internet is crucial, even in the younger grades. Do you see any encyclopedias on the shelves these days? When kids read and write reports on animals or states or biographies, they get their infortmation from trusted online sources like Britannica, etc., that the school subscribes to. The library may own ten books on sharks, but that’s not enough when the whole grade is writing a report on animals. Of course we teach them to read print sources as well, but online sources are crucial for information needs.

[Anonymous]

Of course teachers can't teach if there is no technology. There are no books, either. We have to fight tooth and nail to get a classroom set of textbooks. I'm not even talking about consumables, which we don't get at all. It is the end of November and in my school fewer than 1/2 of the core teachers have classroom sets of texts. Teachers can do a lot of things but they aren't miracle workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you someone who also posts in Arlington Education Matters?

Nope. I don't know what that is.

I'm just a parent that isn't a big fan of the push for technology in the classroom and the funding for it. I've always thought it was unnecessary in elementary school and I'd rather see kids do hand-on experiments and creating things with their hands. It's my lack of understanding "how" it's implemented that prompted me to post. I only hear from the kids how they got computer time and got to play math games on the iPad. Which bothers me. I'd rather they kids socialize and work together on projects rather than group chatting while they are sitting next to each other. I'm only hearing bits and pieces from my kids so I really want to hear from teachers what they think. So far this thread has open my mind to the learning applications technology is having in the classroom when done correctly. And I am seeing some value in it whereas I didn't earlier. I haven't flipped completely but I have a better understanding now.

I agree with you but it is very teacher specific. Our child is graded on doing a math game online every day for homework. I have a huge issue with this as I don't want technology during the weeknight and it creates unnecessary drama. I asked to substitute it with flash cards or workbooks, which we do anyway and was told no, it had to be online. I told her I didn't want my kid on it during the week and she said his grade would reflect it. I said I'm ok with a B if you prefer not to teach and just dump the kids on math games all day at school and home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course teachers can't teach if there is no technology. There are no books, either. We have to fight tooth and nail to get a classroom set of textbooks. I'm not even talking about consumables, which we don't get at all. It is the end of November and in my school fewer than 1/2 of the core teachers have classroom sets of texts. Teachers can do a lot of things but they aren't miracle workers.

As a parent, I wish the teachers would reach out to the parents. I'd be happy to buy a textbook for at home and chip in for a classroom book or for a kid whose parents cannot afford it. My kid does so much better learning visually with textbooks and the no textbooks are hard for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School librarian. Access to the internet is crucial, even in the younger grades. Do you see any encyclopedias on the shelves these days? When kids read and write reports on animals or states or biographies, they get their infortmation from trusted online sources like Britannica, etc., that the school subscribes to. The library may own ten books on sharks, but that’s not enough when the whole grade is writing a report on animals. Of course we teach them to read print sources as well, but online sources are crucial for information needs.

I agree, but in my experience access to the online resources is hindered by a scarcity of computers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, are you someone who also posts in Arlington Education Matters?

Nope. I don't know what that is.

I'm just a parent that isn't a big fan of the push for technology in the classroom and the funding for it. I've always thought it was unnecessary in elementary school and I'd rather see kids do hand-on experiments and creating things with their hands. It's my lack of understanding "how" it's implemented that prompted me to post. I only hear from the kids how they got computer time and got to play math games on the iPad. Which bothers me. I'd rather they kids socialize and work together on projects rather than group chatting while they are sitting next to each other. I'm only hearing bits and pieces from my kids so I really want to hear from teachers what they think. So far this thread has open my mind to the learning applications technology is having in the classroom when done correctly. And I am seeing some value in it whereas I didn't earlier. I haven't flipped completely but I have a better understanding now.

I agree with you but it is very teacher specific. Our child is graded on doing a math game online every day for homework. I have a huge issue with this as I don't want technology during the weeknight and it creates unnecessary drama. I asked to substitute it with flash cards or workbooks, which we do anyway and was told no, it had to be online. I told her I didn't want my kid on it during the week and she said his grade would reflect it. I said I'm ok with a B if you prefer not to teach and just dump the kids on math games all day at school and home.

Are you in Arlington? Are you willing to share?

I'm in FCPS and grades don't reflect hw in ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We created teachers who have asked during outages - “How can I teach?”

Not exaggerating

You should have seen my principal’s face!

As a teacher, I put a lot of work into planning my lessons, because I know that teachers who plan carefully get better results. If I've planned something that involves technology, and the wifi goes down, then I'm forced to make up something on the fly, and even if I have another way to teach the same skill in my back pocket, chances are I won't have exactly what I need to teach it.

So, yes, instruction suffers when the wifi goes down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course teachers can't teach if there is no technology. There are no books, either. We have to fight tooth and nail to get a classroom set of textbooks. I'm not even talking about consumables, which we don't get at all. It is the end of November and in my school fewer than 1/2 of the core teachers have classroom sets of texts. Teachers can do a lot of things but they aren't miracle workers.

As a parent, I wish the teachers would reach out to the parents. I'd be happy to buy a textbook for at home and chip in for a classroom book or for a kid whose parents cannot afford it. My kid does so much better learning visually with textbooks and the no textbooks are hard for everyone.

In my school system we are prohibited from saying something to you because then, Central Office fears, you and other parents would rise up and demand textbooks. Which you should anyway. Every child should have a textbook and/or consumable for core subjects.