Technology in the Classroom

The presentation this week with Darren Kuropatwa was very inspiring.  As the feeling of this new technology that we are learning is at times overwhelming, this presentation was a breath of fresh air.  It was nice to see how this technology can be worked into the classroom.  Even though he teaches highschool, I could still see some of the uses in the lower elementary end.  It was also nice to see that technology has not taken over his personal life and that there are still the personal connections going on in the classroom.

One of his topics he mentioned was on TFU (Teaching For Understanding) and how he used technology to aid in that learning process.  The ability to have the students use the smartboard to explain their thinking, and or even apply their thinking to different situations was neat to see.  Technology here has helped the students share answers, blog their thinking etc. If the students aren’t able to transfer the learning are they really learning? Are they really understanding if they can not apply their new knowledge?  The technology used in this particular classroom helped answer those questions. You could really see the benefit it had on the students.

I honestly, just really liked how Darren used the technology in his classroom to aid in his instruction.  It is a great situation where all can learn.  I guess we all need to beg our school boards to start looking in that direction, what forms of technology is worth purchasing to aid in the learning process.