"In what ways is technology integrated in today's classrooms?
When I really think about the part that technology plays in today's classroom, it amazes me. I was homeschooled all the way through school until I went to college and 98% of my school work was done in books. I rarely even used a computer. Now looking back at my three years of college, I realize how much technology has been a crucial aspect of my school experience. Even in the past year, I have learned about and used so much more technology than I would have ever dreamed, and it has been great.
I have recently learned about new websites, such as Padlet and Flipgrid, and I can imagine how awesome these would be for a teacher using them in a classroom. I did a book report for another class this semester and used Padlet to organize it. I really loved the way it turned out and it made my experience of doing a book report so much more fun. I know that it would for younger students as well. I look forward to using these in my future classroom for my students.
In my college experience, I have used websites like My Math Lab, which has been the way most of my homework has been done across three different math classes this year. It has been an awesome tool to use because it has resources available to help with the homework. I can see if I get answers correct quickly instead of waiting on a teacher to grade them. When we had to go into quarantine this semester, the transition in those classes was pretty seamless because we were already using this website for Homework. My other classes have also transitioned very well because technology was already being used for most of the assignments.
During this quarantine, google hangouts and blackboard collaborate have been used for our teachers to connect with us, explain assignments, and answer questions, and that has been very helpful. In one class, we even had a big Kahoot quiz on google hangouts to prepare for our final. Its crazy to even think that things like this are possible and that they are at our disposal. Technology has been vital for classes everywhere during this time, not just mine. I was able to use a Zoom call to meet with a teacher that I know for feedback on some lesson plans I had to create for an assignment. We talked about how convenient it was, whether we are in quarantine or not. In this class, google classroom has helped keep us in tune with what we need to be doing. I wouldn't even want to think about what this remote learning would have looked like without the technology and programs that we have used, such as My Math Lab, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Outlook, Google Classroom, Blackboard, Word Document, etc.
Remote learning for me has been more helpful in many areas and more difficult in some. Learning strictly at home has (obviously) given me so much more time, and therefore, taken a lot of stress away. When I am going to classes everyday and spending at least an hour in the car driving, I feel like I never have enough time and get run-down much easier. In that aspect, I have enjoyed not feeling rushed to get to class and have enjoyed having almost everything that I need on my computer at home, instead of needing to be in the classroom, as well. I have loved having recorded online lectures that I can pause and re-watch. I feel like I can understand the material much better and take better notes.
Even though technology is and has been amazing for this time of remote/virtual learning, I do miss some aspects of being in the classroom, mostly because it is so much better for asking questions and getting help from the teacher directly. That has been the thing I have missed most. For the classes that have not provided online lectures, I have greatly missed having a teacher explaining the material and how to do the math problems. There has been a lot of pressure in having to teach myself all of the material or trying to find someone to help explain it.
For teachers, I think that remote learning would probably be easier than teaching a class because they can do what they need to do to on their own time and not have to be in a classroom for hours each week. I imagine that it would help teachers have more time to prepare student work and, if teaching several sections of a class, they could record one lecture instead of having to teach the material several times in the different classes. Also, some of the programs being used by teachers automatically grades student work for them, like in My Math Lab.
Overall, there are definitely pros and cons to online learning, but if done right, it can be very beneficial.
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