First Year

I just finished my first year of teaching. The various ways in which I encountered insanity this past year are endless. However, this first post is a response to a grad-school assignment.

What technologies did I use:
My school is very fortunate in that we have a principal who is a strong leader, values technology, and is a magician at securing funding. Because of that combination, we were able to have teacher computers, 3M Digital Boards (SmartBoards, basically), document readers, and dvd/video players in every classroom. Beyond that, there were five laptop carts available for classroom use. My students interacted with technology every day as I used the board for presentations, worked on laptops for labs and projects, and gooped up my digital reader by using it as a way to project labs on the board.

Do I think they enhanced my teaching:
Well, obviously! It makes teaching science SO MUCH EASIER when you can use video clips, pictures, digital labs, and other forms of media to get abstract concepts across to the squirrelly minds of space monkeys.

What obstacles did I encounter:
The biggest obstacle I encountered was getting students to act responsibly on the laptops - a lot of space monkeys seem to think that computer time equals game time. Besides that, my biggest technological challenge came at the end of the year, when my improperly-installed 3M projector fell out of my cinder-block wall and shattered into a million pieces. Beyond the angst that came from watching a multi-thousand dollar piece of equipment be destroyed, I then had to revamp my end of the year plans to not involve technology.

How does educational technology fit in with your overall educational philosophy:
Since my educational technology includes reaching the most students with the greatest amount of information, using technology helps a lot, as it keeps students focused and interested.