Friday, July 19, 2013

Embracing technology

Smartboards have revolutionized my teaching!  My first year as a teacher, I was at a school where chalkboard dust existed along with the not-as-ancient curriculum I had to teach.  So, I persuaded my principal to install a whiteboard.  Fast forward a couple years, and a couple schools, I cannot live without my more-than-glorified projector.  I find cool features and tricks every year, and I hope my students are having as much fun with it as I am.

I just heard my 6-year-old record himself reading on a Toy Story book app. As he played it back, his eyes lit up, and he was so proud of how he sounded.  So cool to see him enjoying reading so much!  When he was 2, my other son played a simple matching game on an app that leveled from beginning to advanced.  At 4, he can do the advanced so easily.  I know there is a lot of research about limiting technology at a young age, and I agree to an extent. If it's doesn't turn into an addiction, we're going to embrace it!

Age-appropriate apps for my kids, please!  A venture to an unfamiliar Ipad has led to more conversations about using the right words (1000 dumb ways to die, no thank you!  a farting app, no thank you! an ugly scale, no thank you!).

With any new fad that comes, a conversation follows:)  Bury "boys will be boys."

2 comments:

  1. What apps were these? wendy

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    1. The Toy Story app is from Disney; it was a free one, especially since it's the first of the trilogy, and pretty old. The matching is called "Find it-Match it"; it's free also.

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