It is 7:20 A.M., the school’s bell rings signalling to all those inside it’s walls that the school day has begun. Eyes roll, puns exchanged, and silence slowly begins to suffocate the energy that was once filling the building.
The students have collapsed into their desks, and are painstakingly awaiting the next bell through the boring lectures of Robert Frost. A few brave soles have their phones tucked down behind their desks, as they desperately gasp for air through the communication with others through various social media accounts. There is always the one brave student who snaps a picture of herself to post to Snapchat hoping to lure the young mind of the boy who received the photo to engage in a conversation. The hour long class quickly turns into what feels like hours, even days.
Finally, we reach the 9 o’clock hour, and the bell rings. Students spring to life, and rush to the hallway, where they can communicate with their peers. Some will quickly succumb to another torturous lecture while the few will be liberated by the coveted science class where discovery, innovation, collaboration and technology beckons their mind to soar! These students have been equipped with the tools necessary to achieve their desired outcomes, as Miss Techie always provides various tools for the students to lead their own learning, as she is there to facilitate, make them think deeper, keep them on track and encourage them to take daring adventures in the learning. Her students have been taught “You don’t learn without making mistakes, and a mistake that is learned from was NEVER a failure!” She is quick to provide access to books for research just as much as she provides computers and technology, because she knows there are those kids who still covet the feel of a book in their hand as they research and learn. When it comes time to complete an assignment, she provides various ways for the kids to submit their work, so that students can always be creative in their time to shine at the completion of their units! Some of the projects the students can choose from is: song writing, video production, essay, poetry, and PowerPoint.
The students love the engaging, self-driven learning and research. They are thankful for teachers like Miss Techie. Unfortunately, it is teachers like they have for the first class of the day, that makes them “turn off” to particular subjects, learning and/or school all together.As a teacher, we must find ways to be more like Miss Techie, while (like she does) continue to reach the students who are not as versed with technology.
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