Tips
December 5th, 2009
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Posted by English 579: Computers & Writing
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1.Preparation
- Do some reconnaissance work and research beforehand. Familiarize yourself with as many technological resources as you can.
- There are plenty of technological application tutorials on the Internet that can help you get started and provide ideas for multimodal assignments. (e.g. Powerpoint, IMovie, etc.)
- Be aware of your environment. Know which resources will be available/applicable in your given classroom. (e.g. Is there a projector screen; are there enough outlets? etc.)
- Start teaching only with multimodal resources that you are comfortable with. Don't feel the need to identify yourself as a full-blown techie on the first day. You can certainly keep learning as the class progresses.
- Everyone learns differently. Even if the majority of your students is highly tech-savvy, it doesn't mean that they will be completely comfortable. Make an effort to know your student's learning strengths.
2. In the Classroom
- Whether you hold yourself as a novice or an expert in technology, you should express it to your students. Don't be afraid to learn from your students, when it comes to technology. Be a learner with them. By replacing the master-student relationship with a co-learner relationship, it should lead to more positive learning and interactions with your students.
- Integrate rather than separate. Be able to answer the question, "What's the point?". Make sure that the students understand that technology is being used to complement their learning and that it is not a "fun alternative".
- Allow enough time for the students to complete the assignment so that they feel they did well. If you don't feel you could do it in the allotted time, neither do they.
3. Troubleshooting: Don't Panic!
- Things go wrong all the time. Be patient when troubleshooting occurs. Be sure to have an alternative option in case a certain technology doesn't work correctly.
- Create checklists for yourself and for the students. This checklist can include the steps for completing the assignment and what the technology needs to function. This way, less problems will occur and you can examine step-by-step when things go wrong.
- Anticipate what can go wrong and be prepared to problem solve.
- Have a collaborative atmosphere so that the students may work together to find a solution.
- The "Help" button is there for a reason. Most applications have it. Use it.
- Save every 5 minutes and tell the students to save every 5 minutes.
- Make extra copies, whether hard copy or digital copy to prevent software complications.