In my five years of teaching, it has been very interesting to watch the constant change in educational technology.  During my first two years of teaching, I had a projector and touch screen laptop on which I could write notes.  The technology was completely teacher-centered, as I was the only one with a device.  As I moved onto the public school system, technology became much more attainable, due to the money that public schools had invested in technology.  Once again, however, the technology was very teacher-centered.  I had a projector, a laptop, an Elmo, and access to a computer lab.  These were (and still are) great tools for the classroom but students had very little interaction with technology.

In the last month, the district in which I teach went 1:1 with Chromebooks at all school sites from students 2nd grade through 12th grade.  It has been a great privilege to introduce students to technology, although a bit overwhelming at some points.  My own students were familiar with many of the tools used within Google.  We had spent several months beforehand visiting the computer lab, learning to check email, how to use the Google Classroom, complete assignments on Google Forms, and use Khan Academy.  Therefore, when the Chromebooks were implemented within our school site, I felt that my students had very little issues with using the technology.

Although myself and the students were prepared for the technology, there have been a vast amount of changes in my lesson planning and teaching due to the technology.  At the core, I still teach the same as I have taught throughout this year.  My students still take notes in their Interactive Notebook because I feel that it is important within a math classroom.  The students still participate in their collaborative group work in an AVID tutorial-based manner.  However, there have certainly been some changes, as well.  These changes take place through the way that assignments are distributed.  Instead of printing the assignments for the students, I have begun creating their assignments through Google Forms and Docs.  In relation to homework, the students are given the assignment through Google Forms.  They show their work within their Interactive Notebooks and submit their responses in the forms.  (In my following post, I will post a video of how an add-on called Flubaroo will grade these assignments for you.)  In relation to projects or in-class activities, many of the assignments have been created through Google Docs.  (In another post, I will show you how to grade these assignments with Doctopus and Goobric.)

Overall, my classroom looks similar to how it has always looked, but there has been a definite adjustment with the implementation of technology within our classrooms.  Although it can be intimidating and overwhelming, I truly believe that we are allowing our students to have an opportunity to be prepared for the future.