The British comic writer Terry Pratchett once wrote that you could tell that his office was a paperless office because you could see paper everywhere. Classrooms, like offices, will never be 100% free of papers, but technology in the classroom is making the idea of a "paperless" classroom more feasible. How much easier would your job as a teacher be if you didn't have a multitude of papers (books, black line masters, flash cards, attendance rolls, notes-to-send-home-to-parents, handouts, quiz sheets) to cope with?
Technology in the classroom is becoming more and more extensive. It would be a rare classroom today that doesn't have at least one PC or laptop set up with a good internet connection (possibly even wireless), and nearly every classroom has its own VCR or DVD player (or at least, there's a player that's shared between two or three classrooms, depending on who's using it today). Some classrooms have multiple computers, and some even have data projectors. Certainly, most schools would have a computer lab where each pupil can work individually on a computer.
Society today is becoming more and more computerised, so it is vital that your students don't get left behind and they know how to use digital tools. They'll be using them in the workplace, so they'd better get familiar with technology in the classroom first.
What are some easy ways that you can cut down on the amount of paper that you have floating around your classroom?
· Use a spreadsheet for attendance. Once you've called the roll, you can email the result of who is and isn't here to the secretary, or let him/her access it via the school's intranet.
· Use webquests instead of textbooks for some subjects. If you haven't used them before, a webquest is an online teaching tool that sets your students various tasks that will require online research to be done. The best ones include helpful links to sites that can help in research. You can create your own customised webquests for your class.
· Use computer games instead of flash cards for drilling your students in time tables and spelling words. You can use online computer games or buy software for doing this. One of the better ones for multiplication is Times Attack from multiplication.com, which has the look and feel of a classic dungeon-style first-person-shooter game but provides an intensive drill in times tables.
· Use videos and DVDs instead of textbooks to explain a concept. Videos and DVDs can also take the place of information handouts. Better still, online video clips can be used, and your students have the chance to re-view these as part of their revision.
· In senior grades, it may be possible for students to submit papers and essays online. This prevents the "Well, I'm sure I put that paper on your desk or in your pigeonhole. The wind must have blown it down and the janitor binned it," excuse. If you're worried about plagiarism (which is one of the pitfalls of modern technology in the classroom), then sign up for Copyscape, which will let you see if anybody's created an essay by cutting and pasting.
Don't let the words "technology integration" scare you. It's not as hard as you might think, and you don't have to get a paperless classroom overnight. And if you have used a video in teaching before, then, you have some of the basic skills already. Standard methods for using media in your elementary lessons are still the benchmark for an effective lesson. Technology should be seen as just another tool in your lesson-not the lesson. Check out [http://www.schoolvideos.com/expert/7_mistakes]the free video tutorial to see how your lessons measure up.
The small company I work for is committed to creating quality educational videos for classroom instruction. From the earliest script stages, all subject area content, images, and music are intensely reviewed and selected for meeting appropriate grade level, curriculum objectives and standards for our proprietary productions. The videos we distribute are also screened to meet our high standards.
Teachers in the 21st century classroom will be better educators if they understand how to use multi media in their lessons, if they understand the processes that research has shown to be the most effective for improved student performance, and if they know how to find quality video resources that will enhance their lessons. http://www.schoolvideos.com
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