What an impressive classroom. I agree with the teacher who said it is impossible to not immediately compare and contrast that ideal situation with our current reality. My guess is this teacher had her share of frustrations and set backs as she put her plans into place but persisted through them. I think it would be manageable to try to implement one of her ideas at a time.
I do hear from teachers who would like to have an interactive white board in their room and these are often the teachers who persist in self-training and finding the most effective ways to use it. Mr. Cisneros, our technology director, has just published a newsletter where he asked for volunteers to try out a "mimeo" which turns a white board into an interactive white board. It has potential to serve as a more manageable Promethean Board. The interactive white board seemed like such an essential piece of the classroom program, I think it's worthy of consideration.
This is a quick reaction, and not a reflective piece, but I want to say I have really enjoyed reading the thoughtful pieces written by the teachers in this class.
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Jennifer, I think this review of the Kiwi classroom is a perfect reflection of how I felt watching the video. There were so many great uses of technology to support the everyday learning that goes on in classrooms right here in our own district, that it is hard not to want to write down the links and try them all. I am so glad you pointed out the idea that this teacher in this Kiwi classroom as probably gone through many trials to get to where she is with her students today. For me, this is the message I want my staff to hear-that while we show exemplars of great schools and classrooms doing wonderful things with technology, each of them started at the bottom of the ladder, just like we are. Hopefully, by doing little bits at a time, and by reminding everyone that they are making strides with technology little by little, we can elimate the frustration and continue to foster the growth happening here in our own classrooms.
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