Saturday, July 25, 2009

Journal #1- Do Your Teachers Need a Personal Trainer?

Owens, Aileen M. (June/July 2009). Do Your Teachers Need a Personal Trainer? Learning and Leading with Technology, Retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/L_L_June_July.htm

This article discusses the benefits of an elementary school working closely with university students, in order to incorporate better technology in the classroom. One thing that stood out to me in this article was the fact that the elementary school students were using computer and Microsoft programs in second grade. It is surprising to me because I think of when I was in grade school; I didn’t even know how to use a computer. However, I think that it is great to start children on technology at an early age. Before this school began working with the Duquesne University, teachers were spending more time with an instructional technology coordinator. The students at the university were already creating integrated technology lesson plans. So, David Carbonara and Aileen Owens thought to match students to teacher needs. Allowing both the teacher and the student to learn from each other. The university students while helping the classroom teachers they were “learning the ropes” to classroom teaching. Rather than learning about it in a university classroom, they had the opportunity to experience it first hand in a classroom.

Some of the things that they taught were Word, netTrekker, Power Point, pod casts, and etc. As I mention earlier I think that both parties were able to benefit from this. The teachers learned more from having a student there to help them every step of the way, than with one instructional coordinator for the entire school. And as for the Duquesne University students, they gained experience and had integrated technology lesson plans to include in their portfolios.

Question #1

What are some of the lesson plans that can be done with interactive whiteboards?

Question #2

Would this program be beneficial to implement in all credential programs?

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