When
Otis asked me to be a guest blogger I was very excited! When I told my kids they laughed at me
because I do not even own a cell phone!
I may not have a cell phone but I have embraced technology in my
classroom. Those of you who do not know
me, my name is Wes Pokorny and I teach kindergarten in Clarkson, Nebraska. I have been at it for 19 years. When I started out my computers had “floppy”
discs and weighed 25 pounds. Here is a
little view how I am using technology in the classroom.
I
am not doing anything cutting edge but I do try to get technology into the
student’s hands daily. From day one the
kids are using ABCMouse.com in their small group
reading stations. It is free to public
schools and is an outstanding way for kids to reinforce their reading and math
skills. I am able to format lessons for
each student and monitor what they are working on. We are lucky to have a MacBook Pro cart right
down the hall and I can get 6 computers with ease. I also use Starfall.com during our small group time.
Starfall.com is one of the best sights I have come across in my time
teaching.
Students
also have access to iPads , which we use for reinforcement and practice. We have all the apps that have been
recommended by different folks on Twitter, Matt Gomez and some of his
#kinderchat friends. I am always looking
for apps that force kids to use higher order thinking skills. One such app is Kodable. It is an app that introduces early elements
of computer coding. Cargo-Bot also does the same but is a
little tougher for 5 and 6 year olds.
I
personally use the iPad and an app called Splashtop Streamer as a remote control for my desktop. It allows me to roam the room as I run our
morning meeting or teaching various lessons.
If I want the kids to do some yoga I will use an application on my
desktop called Reflector. Reflector works with my iPad to put the app
on my SMART Board so it is on a big screen.
I also use Reflector to show what the students are doing at their seats to
the whole group.
I
can’t even think of teaching without my SMART Board. It allows me to be quite entertaining at
times. Yes, as teachers we must be
entertaining in order to hold the students attention. YouTube has so many interesting things to
enrich our lessons.
This
year I started preparing my lesson plans on Notability. I like it because it also recognizes speech
and turns it into type. After I have the
lessons I send them to Evernote. Evernote is one sweet app. I really like the ability to clip articles
and save them.
We
have used our Polycom cart to hook up with Santa and another class in
Michigan. This is something that I would
like to do more of in the future.
Here
is what is on the horizon for my students.
I am showing them how to use Explain Everything. I am showing them how to take a photo and
record their voice. I then want to put
their reading on YouTube so parents can listen to their progress.
Like
I said earlier I do not have a cell phone but I do have a Twitter account. It has helped my professional development in
many ways. I try to look at technology
with a “hybrid” mind a little old school
and some cutting edge. There will always be something new next week. You have got to find a balance in your
life. How much time do you want to
spend? Have you taken your students outside lately? Please make sure that your
technology is not just babysitting your students.
If
you ever want to stop in and see what is happening in Clarkson feel free to
give us a call and pop in!
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