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I have decided that there are 6 ascending levels of technology in the classroom. They go as follows:
1. Blackboard (if you can really call it technology)
2. Whiteboard (hm, guess boards are racist)
3. Overhead projector
4. Powerpoint projector
5. Smartboard (guess boards are intelligencist also)
6. Laptops
A blackboard is the most basic. I consider whiteboards an upgrade primarily because of the ability to write in different colours - even though I was never the type to take notes in multiple colours, in any level of my education, I've firmly adopted the practice as a teacher, and many students follow my lead (or already possessed that habit), making their notes that much more organized and insightful.
Overhead projectors are the next level, and in public education, is probably the level most schools are at, and are attempting to transition to level 4, Powerpoint projectors. By the way, when I talk about schools being "at" a certain level, that means the technology exists in every classroom. In most cases, technology is in either all or just a few classrooms. There are few schools that have, for example, Powerpoint projectors in half their classrooms. It's usually everywhere, or one for each department, for example.
Smart Boards are the new hot thing, and the 1:1 laptop program (where every student has a laptop) is clearly a step up from even that.
Okay, now a bit of context. Ontario public schools are generally at level 3, and almost all schools have bits of level 4, while many have a few level 5s and 6s (by "a few level 6s" I mean computers in the classroom - computer labs are not part of this discussion because they're not in the average classroom). International/private schools have a much broader range - my first practicum was at a fully level 6 school, while many others are 4 or 5, some with a partial 6.
And then there's the low end of the international school spectrum, which brings us to the impetus for today's post. My school is a level 2, with a very few 3s and 4s available for occasional use, and no 5s or 6s whatsoever (there is a computer lab, but it's almost always in use for computer class, and there are no computers in classrooms). I can honestly say that, less than a year ago, I never would have thought I'd be teaching in a classroom without at least an overhead projector.
You might be thinking my whining is a little extreme; of course there are thousands of classrooms far more ill-equipped than mine. But this is an international school, a school for the elite, and I don't see any reason why they shouldn't at least be on par with the public school system in Canada. It can't be for lack of money, I don't think.
Look, technology is not a gimmick. It is a teaching tool, and if you ask me, an essential part of the classroom. Here's how technology would improve my classroom:
Level 3: I would be able to prepare all my lessons ahead of time, so that when the students enter, it's already sitting up there. This forces them to get to work immediately. I would also never have to turn my back on the students, which makes a big difference. They grab onto those moments and it's difficult to wrest the class back.
Level 4: It's cleaner and nicer-looking than overheads, and has many more capabilities. Specifically, it's great to be able to create shapes and insert them into the class slides - which is certainly possible on overheads - but the big difference is, you can animate the shapes with PowerPoint. This is incredibly powerful in math, as you can show shapes changing size, rotating, flipping, etc. Another advantage of PowerPoint is being able to e-mail the notes to the class at the click of a button.
Level 5: SmartBoards may seem like a small step up from PowerPoint, and in many ways they are - many of the main advantages are extensions of PowerPoint capabilities, such as the ability to manipulate shapes and other stuff. I will readily admit I'm no SmartBoard expert, but I've seen some amazing stuff they can do, and I hope to soon be in a classroom with one so I can learn a thing or 2. But I think in 10 years or so SmartBoards could really start to explode - computers are moving towards touch screens, and as more and more people start to use things like iPhones and touchscreen computers, the population will get much more comfortable with this type of interaction, making the SmartBoard a more intuitive and useful tool.
Level 6: I'm sure many teachers would dread 1:1 laptop programs, since they'd assume the students would just be on Facebook the whole time. It's a legitimate concern, and I'm not sure it would be a great idea at my school, but in my first practicum last year, it was amazing. There are huge advantages when this type of program works: the teacher e-mails out the notes ahead of time, so students never have to spend any time writing notes down, and the entire lesson can be spent actively learning.
These aren't just minimal improvements. Each level of technology is a major step up that adds quite a bit of value from an educational standpoint. Except for maybe the jump between level 1 and 2, for which the main advantage is the ability to use colours. Not really that big a deal. And yet it's the only leap my school has taken.
