My Model Classroom
Chrissy Burns EDU 614 Model Classroom I teach at Passos Avante Preschool in Peabody, MA. We are a private preschool, but we are located inside the West Memorial Elementary School, a public elementary school. We have both a preschool and a pre-k classroom located at the West. I teach the preschool class. My preschool classroom is a good sized room. I have a large oval rug with spots for 20 students in front of a board with a calendar, weather chart, and season chart. We have a dramatic play area in the far right hand corner of the classroom. Next to the dramatic play area there is a play area with blocks, cars, and ramps. We have a bookshelf and bean bag chairs next to our circle time rug for the students to relax and read. We have an art area as well as a writing center. There are 17 students in my preschool classroom although by February we will have 19 students. Our regular school day begins at 8:30 and ends at 3:00. Two students from my class attend our extend...
Chrissy, I love how you discussed Sugata Mitra. I also found his experiment super interesting! I think it's a great point to show students that computers and ipads do SO much more than play games and watch movies! We need to show them the usefulness of technology! Great job.
ReplyDeleteI too was blown away by Sugata Mitra's experiment... that was a game changer. I think you make an excellent point that it is important for us to stay up to date with technology as well as remain open to change as the changes in technology may work better for us. I also think your comment that it is important for us as educators to model that technology can be used for something other than gaming is key. Your presentation was well organized and well spoken. Great job.
ReplyDeleteNice job incorporating Sugata Mitra's experiment as it was eye opening to me. You explained why tech in preschool is important very well.
ReplyDeleteCrissy, I love how you put in Sugata Mitra's experiment your presentation. There is a book all about it on amazon that I would like to read sometime: on kindle. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070YZSFQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1. It was very interesting to find out how technology was founded. I agree we need to stay up to date with technology. Your presentation was well presented on how to teach students how to use technology besides using games. I also agree Fam Calendar app is a good tool for teachers to be organized in their daily lives.
ReplyDeleteI loved that you talked about Sugata Mitra and his experiment. It was really interesting and mind blowing to me too! I think it's a great idea though, technology can be used for so many different things. I agree that as teachers we need to be up to date on technology and showing our students that it can be used for many different things besides watching TV, movies or games. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Chrissy. The overall message I got from your presentation is that in order to make our students more tech savvy we, as teachers, need to model for them. In order to model for them we need to learn all we can about incorporating technology into our classroom. You have done a great job of gaining the knowledge to bring it into your classroom.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see how you have learned so much from this class and are using applications that were discussed in class. I loved your slides of technology of when you were growing up. I remember those big computers that took forever to dial up and going to the library to do my research. It's amazing to see how much technology has changed through the years. Great job!
ReplyDeleteChrissy- It seems that we all had the same idea at the beginning regarding how we were going to incorporate technology into classroom with such young children. It truly is eye opening to sit back and just think about the dozens of apps and resources that I stumbled upon while doing the weekly app practicals and how I want to start utilizing them in my room.
ReplyDeleteAlso that 'laptop'! Crazy!
Good idea thinking about the contrast between how kids today use technology in school and how we as kids used computers during school. HUGE DIFFERENCE!
ReplyDeleteThat "hole in the wall' experiment was incredible to watch and learn about! Kids can do so much more than we expect sometimes! Great presentation!
Chrissy, I enjoyed your final presentation!
ReplyDeleteI also viewed technology in the classroom as just play and games. But after this course I also realized how much more technology has to offer students.
Love the idea of using Google Maps for the All About Me unit. Think the students would get a kick out of seeing where they live and seeing where their peers live.
Very effective use of VoiceThread for your presentation, Chrissy. I am really glad we were introduced to that app in this class! I thought you did a great job at the end summarizing the reasons why tech in preschools is important - and I agree we can and should get past our many fears and use it judiciously to benefit ourselves and our students.
ReplyDeleteChrissy, I am not tech savvy either so I anticipated this class to be hard and frustrating. I also did not see how I could incorporate technology further with my kindergarten students outside of the smart-board nor did I think they needed more technology time in their lives. I agree with your statement that as teachers we need to model how to find good information and how to use it appropriately.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know the "laptop" was invented in the 80's! Researching online is so much easier, but I do actually miss using encyclopedias to "look things up." I was also in awe over Mitra's Hole in the Wall experiment. It is amazing that the children were able to teach themselves how to use the computers! I really enjoyed how you broke down how technology can benefit the preschool classroom. Great presentation Chrissy!
ReplyDeleteGreat job in presenting the classroom materials. I am not a techie either, yet this course gave me the confidence to experiment with technology and apply it in my classroom. It seems to me that you are facing the same challenges and are not afraid to tackle them in your classroom. Wonderful presentation.
ReplyDeleteChrissy,
ReplyDeleteI can see how you were nervous including technology in your classroom because you feel as though you are not tech savvy enough. What a great point you mention about how would the parents feel. This was a huge concern for me as well. I as a parent am totally okay with my children using technology in the classroom as long as it is done in an educational way. Even if there were any concern in my mind before, I feel even more better about it after taking this course. Research. WOW. You brought back memories about the library and doing research by using the card catalog. I don’t even think I could find a book in the library without the help of a librarian. It is sad that some, or most of the elementary schools, don’t even use the library any more because of funding. I was also intrigued by Sugata Mitra. I also agree that it is important to teach the children at a young age that technology can be used for more than just playing games and watching videos. Well done Chrissy! You nailed it!
Chrissy,
ReplyDeleteI shared some of your feelings about using the tech in the classroom. Listening to you talking about how we used to go in the library to do research, I remember printing them out and we needed library cards to get all of research done!! WOW! There is so many hings that have changed throughout the years, I can only wonder Whats next??? Uffff very interesting to see the changes.. Good job on your presentation.
I agree with your comments about Sugata Mitra's experiment and the collaboration and sense of community that came from that. Organization can be challenging for me too! It was great to see how you have used technology to help simplify and build efficiency. It is also so important that teachers are models how to find and use information properly.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a common theme that as educators we are all worried about the amount of screen time young children are exposed to already at home. I was relieved to learn about the importance technology has in our students future and how it can be used in a purposeful and collaborative way to enhance the learning of our own students. Although technology changes in my classroom will not be immediate as it takes a lot of teacher collaboration at my school, I have also found many ways that technology can organize my own personal life. Hopefully using these tools for personal reasons will provide us with more confidence and comfort to eventually integrate it more into our classroom.
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