I am making a concentrated effort to get connected. I want to positively impact my students by integrating technology into my classroom experience. The trouble is, there is SO MUCH INFORMATION OUT THERE!
I have been attending technology workshops, mostly within my district, for the past 3 years. Much to my frustration, I have found that as a theatre teacher, much of what they discuss is not really applicable to my content area. There are plenty of resources out there for the “traditional” classroom teacher that is trying to be less traditional. What about resources for the non-traditional classroom? I am not really interested in the 1000 different ways to make a PowerPoint presentation more “exciting”. My students don’t really create all that many slide shows. My students also don’t spend a great deal of time writing essays, so the majority of the brainstorming resources aren’t all that applicable either. I might be able to use them when collaborating on production ideas and character work, but I really prefer actual discussion for these types of tasks as opposed to utilizing technology just for the sake of using it.
My current line of thinking and analysis of cultural trends leads me to believe that the future of technology in education is the Personal Learning Environment (PLE), which is “a digital toolbox which covers activities such as Generating, Organising and Sharing Content Online” (for an article about PLEs that was very informative to me, and the source of the previous quote, click here). Added to this is the PLN, or Personal Learning Network, which is the human resources that one connects with to assist with the PLE (or something like that…the debate over defining the PLN is still going strong. Click here for a discussion on the topic). So, in my view, integrating technology should really be about utilizing both online tools and collaborating with others to enhance the educational experience. With that aim in mind, here are the tools that I am using:
- A class website. To read my previous post on that subject, click here.
- Wikis. I have used wikis in nearly all my classes to compile group research on various topics, from Shakespeare’s life and works to production concepts and design research for specific productions.
- Skype. I will be using this for the first time in the next few weeks to video conference with a playwright who will chat with my students about…playwrighting, a task that they are about to perform.
So, where do I go from here? Are there any quality resources that you can recommend that would assist me in this journey? I’m sure that there are a plethora of ways that I could be integrating technology, but finding the starting point is a challenge. Any help that the wide world of educators and technology-minded folks would like to offer would be greatly appreciated! Thanks my developing PLN!
Note: Please share this post with others. I’m not asking as a shameless plug to generate traffic, but rather as a way to get the most feedback from the most people! Thanks!
