Interview with a Learner

I had the opportunity to have an email chat with Mr. H, a grade 8 math teacher who incorporates the use of technology in his classroom and the school to increase connectivity, help kids learn, and encourage citizenship among the students.

Mr. H initially provided me with an interesting tid bit of information about blogs when I inquired about his student blogs; “comments drive blogs.” As someone who only presently blogs for academic requirement (as it is part of my assessment) I found this fascinating. I guess with the increase of blogs, and the ability for anyone to become a source of media or information  at some level, it only makes sense that feedback, and acknowledgement of the work is there.

Mr. H has all of his class notes on the class blog, courtesy of a Smart Board and SlideShare. In my internship I had a class blog that I utilized to post notes and class dealings. I felt it was often overlooked or not well accessed by students, this lead me to wonder about his uses of a class blog and the student response. He discussed how the class blog allowed the classroom to be open 24 hours a day to students, and that through a chat box feature students were actually helping each other, by answering questions without being told to do so. With the class being so easily accessible online he had high student participation as they can review the material at any time.

With all the online work and collaborating that was occurring I assumed that every student had a computer at their workstation. This is not the case however. I was surprised to hear Mr. H state that computers in the classroom could be distracting to students, as was often the case with my internship experience. It is often reasoned that students do not pay attention because they are not engaged. However, if they are checking the class site and utilizing the chat box then how are these students not engaged? This leads me to believe that while they are obviously engaged they are still products of utilizing technological conveniences available in our daily lives. Even when I first log on to a computer I check my email, my Facebook, and my university class updates (typically in that order).

Additionally, as the students are more connected to the classroom with a school wiki the parents are able to stay connected to the school too. The  opportunity for parents to participate in conferences online has increased the parental participation in conferences at the school to “90% as they are able to do them whenever they want.”

In conclusion I would like to thank Mr. H for the time he took out of his busy schedule to help me have better insight into my use and incorporation of technology in the classroom!

Making It Interesting

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