Welcome to the Teaching in the Digital Age book study! Before we hit the ground running I just wanted to remind everybody how it works, you can find the details here. The linky at the bottom is open so please feel free to join in and link up your posts or comment. You can get your copy of the book, Teaching in the Digital Age by Brian Puerling at Amazon.
Introduction
If you are like me you usually skip the introduction and go straight to the good stuff, am I right? I encourage you not to skip this one because Brian (the author) establishes the tone and sets the expectations for the book in the intro which made me want to continue reading. He addressed some key points and answered several of the questions I had such as:
- How does the book align with the NAEYC position statement on technology?
- Who is this book written for?
- What types of technology skills do readers need to have in order to use this book?
- In what ways can technology be used to enhance learning?
I think what intrigued me the most about the introduction was the revelation that QR codes would be embedded throughout the book that take you to videos of technology in action as well as printable forms that can be used to plan, reflect, and evaluate technology use in the classroom- score! If you don’t know what a QR code is don’t worry, there are also urls included the book.
Big ideas from Chapter 1
- “Technology is changing the way we teach.”
- “Young children are growing up in a digital world.” Children today are digital natives.
- Technology is a tool teachers can use to support lifelong learning.”
- No matter where you are, there is a way to obtain technology for your classroom. Grant programs are included in chapter 9.
- “Early childhood educators need to be digitally literate.” (Chip Donohue)
- “Nobody will uninvent the iPad. It’s time for early childhood educators to embrace these tools to…prepare young children for success in the digital age.” Warren Buckleitner
- Goals for technology use and integration need to be manageable and measurable.
- Here’s my favorite, “Technology is never to supplant, it is to supplement.” Sound familiar folks? It’s very similar to the mantra that I’ve been chanting for years, “Technology can enhance teaching but never replace it.” I knew I liked this book 🙂
There are 5 forms included at the end of the first chapter, they are:
- Goal Setting
- Planning for Student Equipment Use
- Classroom Equipment Survey
- Assessing Your Skills
- Curriculum Map
These forms can be used as a guide as you look at ways to integrate technology into your classroom.
If you are thinking about adding a new piece of technology to your program I suggest playing with it on your own first so you can become comfortable with it. I remember getting a projector and document camera in my classroom several years ago. I was terrified of them and I had no idea how to use them in my classroom. Our day was already so packed I couldn’t fathom taking time out to use these new tools. As I became more comfortable using them I also began to realize that I didn’t need to find any “extra time” in our day to utilize these tools, they could be easily integrated into our already existing routine to enhance learning. This equipment has become such an integral part of the way I now teach I can’t imagine ever teaching without them.
What did you think about Chapter 1? Leave a comment below
Join us next week for Chapter 2: Using Photographs and Images to Inspire hosted by Dr. Jean
