Readers' Survey 2007: Best Tech Tool
Edutopia readers weigh in on their favorites.
by Edutopia Staff
Credit: Getty Images
The Computer
We were not really surprised that the winner by a wide margin is the computer. Way back in the 1980s, Time magazine named the computer Man of the Year, so by now it's not news that computers are as basic in schools as whiteboards and PB&J sandwiches. The wrinkle this year is that most of the readers who extolled the computer specified laptops, as portable as textbooks but far more abundant in content.
Other reader choices show that when computers are a given, more novel tech becomes standard: interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, iPods, and word processing (which won't by itself make kids better writers but can make them more willing ones). It's heartwarming to note that more than a few respondents still made the case for the pencil, with an eraser -- a classic blessing at both ends. Not one educator, by the way, nominated the cell phone.
Our Take
Upward Mobility
Computers are so embedded in business and private life that we hardly notice how much we depend on them. Let's put them on the essential commodity shelf, then, along with the refrigerator and the radio. The new sine qua non of modern life -- and modern learning -- is the Internet. Well, not new, because the smart young brainiacs at Netscape gave us regular folks the chance to trade Pez dispensers (hello, eBay!) or tell the world about our favorite color (MySpace is your space) years ago. But let a third grader "fly" to his or her home address on the magic carpet of Google Earth, and you may pique an interest in geography in a way no textbook map can.
NEXT PAGE OF READERS' SURVEY: Hottest topic in the teachers' lounge
This article was also published in the April 2007 issue of Edutopia magazine .
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Tech Tool
I love to use the smart board in my classroom. It is a great way to use technology and get students to participate in a small group or whole class discussion.
SMART boards
The most useful tech tool that I have in my class other than the computer is my interactive smartboard and document camera. My kids use it during center-time and they are becoming very tech-savy. We also use it during small-group and whole-class activites on a daily basis.
Computers and smart boards
Computers are such an important asset to the classroom today. Students are able to increase their knowledge and learn more over all quicker through the computer. My students go on a computer almost everyday in my classroom. The gains they have made at such a young ago are unbelievable. Not only are they wizards on the keyboard they know how to look up information and get research on specific subjects. These students are only eight and nine years old.
Having a smart board in your school is a great resource. Smart boards are great for classroom research, projects, discussions, and whole class activities. Students are so engaged when interacting with a smart board. This is a wonderful way to engage all students and get them involved with a lesson.
Smart boards in the classroom
I agree with you about the value of smart boards in the classroom. Our school has not been able to generate the funds to have them in our elementary classes although we do have them in our special ed and middle school. How did your school raise the funds to purchase them?
SMARTboards
I have been truly amazed at how my students have responded to the SMARTboard I have in my classroom. They have a renewed interest in the same type of material they have been studying. I find more students on task, waiting for their turn and learning from each other as the interact with the lessons. It is an invaluable teaching tool.
Smartboards and portals
I have had a plasma screen in my classroom to project things for several years. This year our school system began a three year plan to outfit all of our classrooms with SmartBoards and I got one this year. I was at first a doubter, not really understanding how this would benefit me in a high school social studies classroom. After a month of school I am a believer. I can't believe all the cool things you can do with these boards. From simple things like saving notes so that you can print them for absent students or LD students to more interactive lesson plans.
We have also started to use a portal to put all of our homework onto. I am still mixed on this. Part of me really thinks that high school students should be able to write down homework without it being posted. On the other hand, this might make it easier for a parent to stay on top of their child.
Smart Boards
The school district that I work in has a SmartBoard and 5 computers in every single classroom for all ages of students. I teach second grade and my students love using the SmartBoard. As a teacher, I love the SmartBoard as well. There are so many more things that you can do in your classroom using a SmartBoard and computers rather than a white board and an overhead projector. I believe allowing the students to use all of these technical appliances will help them be more technology savvy in the future.
Smartboards
We just recently got smartboards in our classrooms and I love them. My students are engaged and interested in the things that I am doing. The love being able to vote and get instant feedback on what we are working on. I love being able to do everything on the board from using it as a white board to video streaming magic school bus on a "big Screen". They are great!
SMARTboards
We have one SMARTboard in our school, which is used periodically. How did you know how to use it? Did your school provide training? It sound as if the children really enjoy using it as a learning tool.
Smart Boards/Sharing
I love the Smart Board. I teach first grade and my students manipulate the board like they have been doing this all their life. I have been teaching for 30 years and even though at first it was hard to make the change, I am glad I did. I do everything from days of the week, even/odd numbers, concentration using Spelling words to math facts. I could go on and on. If you have any great ideas or slides that you would like to share with my first graders I would be very interested. My morning opening is approx. 45 slides. If any of you are interested in anything that I might do with my 1st graders let me know and I can send them to you.