Wow! What a start to the school year! With just me and 23 little kinders life can be kind of crazy as I am sure many teachers can relate to. We have spent so much time learning the rules and routines of the classroom and now it’s time to start the learning! But I often wonder….did I spend enough time on those routines? It sometimes seems that the first month is not enough and that is just talking about how to be a student. And now they want me to use technology too!?! More routines and procedures to teach! …..well that’s how I felt my first year with one to one devices! My opinion has certainly changed since that first day but it took some time.
Technology is no different when it comes to school. While technology is present in many of our student’s lives it looks different at school than when we are using technology at home. I now embrace using technology in the classroom after seeing all the learning that can occur and would love nothing more than to dive in right where I left off last year but I need to remind myself to take a step back. To really use technology in the classroom and be successful at it, you need to set up the routines and procedures before even putting devices in students hands and my new Kinders don’t have any of that set up yet. So start slow! And know that it is ok to start slow. A very wise administrator once told me that spending 6 weeks (if not more) reviewing those routines and procedures is ok! Be sure to include technology in that timeline. It seems like it should be so easy just to give them all the ipads and let them go but it can certainly prove to be more challenging than expected. As I am writing this post, I am having flashbacks to a few years ago and can hear all my little Kinders with hands in the air waiting, ever so patiently…..or not, as I make my way around the room, wishing I would have taken more time before the activity to explain expectations. I encourage you to take the time and set your year up for success so you don’t have 23 hands waving at you!
As I am writing this post, I am having flashbacks to a few years ago and can hear all my little Kinders with hands in the air waiting, ever so patiently…..or not, as I make my way around the room, wishing I would have taken more time before the activity to explain expectations. I encourage you to take the time and set your year up for success so you don’t have 23 hands waving at you!
So all that being said, what should we do to set our year up for success when it comes to using technology. When working with our youngest learners we need to make sure our expectations are very clear. I love using anchor charts and pictures to explain what our ipads are used for, our rules when using them, and even how to fix technology glitches. You can find many of these anchor charts in the K-3 series book as well as many other tips for setting up technology in your room!
Of course as your year goes on, there will probably be glitches but I can guarantee if you take the time in the beginning to set up the expectations, your year will end up being a success!
Wishing you a wonderful and glitch free school year!
Kristy Hopkins