Literacy and Technology Fall 2021

As the technological world continues to progress we are seeing it used in classrooms more and more. Technology can have so many positive educational benefits, and open doors to endless possibilities. With that being said, this boom of technology use in the classroom has created the digital divide . What Is The Digital Divide? It is the idea that as technology use in schools continues to grow, we are creating a gap between students with the financial means to access technology and those who cannot. This gap causes students who do not have easy access to fall behind due to the hurdles they have in their efforts to keep up. Looking at the history of technology in schools, computers were making their way into classrooms as early as the 1980s. During this time public schools were receiving funding by the government to provide these resources. However, eventually that government budget ran out and schools had to begin to pay for technological resources using local property taxes. This is whe...

  Building Empathy in the Classroom Have you noticed that your students could use support in having more empathetic responses in social and academic settings? Are you studying a topic that may be sensitive for some of your students? Do you feel that you need to deepen students’ ability to understand one another and or write about emotions in characters that you are teaching?  The past year and a half has been more challenging than any other. The world that we live in has changed dramatically and in response to this drastic change it is more important now than ever that we treat each other with empathy. With that being said, our children need to be equipped with language to identify and express their emotions so that they may better identify their feelings in any given situation as well as connect with others emotions. Teaching and building empathy in a classroom is no easy task, but is vital to our classroom communities.  According to the article, “How to Build Empathy an...

  Diversity in Classroom Libraries  Have you evaluated your read-alouds and classroom library lately?  Is it diverse?  Does your selection include race, cultures, disability, foster care, adoption, nontraditional families?  Do your books represent your school or classroom community? Literature allows children to be part of experiences they may never have, which is why diverse and inclusive classroom libraries are crucial to recognizing and fostering a sense of validation and representation.  "Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our ow...

  The Situation Covid-19 has catapulted the intensity of technology in schools.  My school is a 1-to-1 device school; however, it's not all the glitz and the glamor it appears to be.  This year students were responsible for having a form signed by their adults at home that stated they could have a device.  No form, no device.  Then, device distribution happened.  If you brought your form in on time, you were lucky enough to get a device.  If you didn't bring back the form or were a new student you were essentially penalized because we ran out of devices to distribute to students.  Now, students sit in classes without a device because we are waiting on a shipment of Chromebooks - who knows when that will be.  As a teacher you have requirements you need to meet with technology, such as a certain amount of time on a web based site.  However, when you have students without chromebooks you have to share the chromebooks that you do have. ...

How has technology changed education? The way that technology has been used in the classroom from 20 years ago to now has changed drastically.   But the overarching question is, has the evolution of technology changed education for the better? This is a question that every educator must ask themselves at some point in their career.     Their answer will speak volumes about how they view technology being used in the classroom and if they view it as an asset for their students learning. 20 Years Ago vs. Now In the early 2000s, classrooms were filled with white boards, chalkboards, students passing handwritten notes, one to two computers per class, and “online learning” usually entailing an hour per week in the computer lab.     Technology then had to be plugged into the wall while now it is mobile, overhead projectors were a common source of technology in the classroom while now they are harder to find.     Textbooks were all physical while now...