8 tips for making the most of limited tech in the classroom

My name is Rebecca Valera and I have been teaching for about 8 years now. I am currently taking a break to raise my three beautiful children. I specialize in (and what I have mainly taught) math and science for grades 3-8. I have taught in both public and parochial (Catholic) schools in Texas. I play a variety of instruments (guitar, flute, percussion), love my growing family and am very passionate about my Catholic faith. With three kids 3 and under, I enjoy blogging, developing curriculum in my “free time.” My family and I currently reside in Garland, TX.

I am so excited to be guest blogging today about one of the biggest problems/advantages teachers have in the classroom…TECHNOLOGY.  Whether you have a lot or a little, something always seems to go wrong. My goal in this post is to be able to help you utilize the “little tech” you have in your classroom.

Let me first get you up to speed about me and my background before we dive in any further.  I have been teaching since January of 2006, in both public and parochial (Catholic) schools in Texas. I took a year off to help raise my three beautiful, young children, but I’ve been working hard trying to get ready for when I go back by creating resources for myself and other teachers.  Though there were times when I was overwhelmed by tons of tech in my classroom, I have also made do with little tech and always found a way to make it work for me and for my students. Here’s how.

Photo by  Sean MacEntee; Creative Commons License 

1. Utilize the computer lab at your school

See if you can schedule a time to reserve it when it’s not being used.  Be sure to plan early and in advance, especially if you are sharing the lab with the rest of the school.

2. Tap into your computer teacher’s resources

Some schools have a separate elective or specials time set aside for teaching typing skills and other Microsoft programs like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel. See if you can have your students work on a project you’d assigned with during the computer class. Not only will this save precious class time working on the project, but also help with any “tech issues” the kids may have with the project since the computer teach will be there. You can also let the computer teacher know up front about some of the tech projects that you plan on working on and teaching this year. They just might give you pointers or even find a way to work it into their plans.

3. Empower students to troubleshoot

Not only is it important for you to help guide your students through a tech-based project, but it is equally important  to teach all the ins and outs of the tech itself. Go over all the steps of using the tool first (create a PowerPoint or Prezi) without the tech in front of the kids (otherwise they will not be giving you their full attention).  Make a handout that students can reference later if they get stuck. Post those same instructions to your blog so that parents and students can see/reference it if the handout gets “lost.”

4. Incorporate tech into existing lessons, rather than create from scratch

Don’t try and create new, amazing lessons (unless you want to)…use the lessons and projects you already have, but integrate them with technology.  Instead of students writing their final draft by hand, have them type it up!  Let your students use programs like Photostory, Vimeo, Blabberize, Animoto, or iMovie to create an amazing _______ (you fill this in).  You can do this gradually at your own pace–don’t ever think that you have to load yourself down.  The simplest way to integrate tech is to start small and start with lessons you already have.

Examples of projects you may already be doing that could have tech integrated:

• A book trailer (versus a book report)
• Rap or song about the planets in our solar system
• Vacation Commercials to hotels on other planets
• Element Facts using “Blabberize”
• All about me “Animoto’s”
• Field Trip Trailers (showing off what we learned on our field trips)

Here are some other common uses of tech integration that I have experienced and seen:

• Use Grade Cam to easily grade a quiz for instant feedback
• Use Socrative to create a paperless, self-grading quizor exit slip
• Use Google Drive to Collaborate with co-workers on lesson plans, scope and sequences, or PBLs
• Use Google Drive to take attendanceor as a collaborative calendar
• Use Google Drive to take a class survey or parent survey
• Use your current lessons and incorporate QR Codeswithin them (another QR Code resource)
• Skype with an guest speaker (children’s author, astronaut, geologist, etc.)
• Use Class Dojo to manage your classroom
• More Ideas for using Google Drive and Google Forums in the Classroom

5. Utilize ALL the tech in your classroom

Has that iPad been sitting at your desk instead of in your hands or a student’s hand? Use that iPad or extra computer in the room as a station when doing rotations. Use the iPad to manage your classroom or use Air Server to connect to your PC and mirror wirelessly.  Want to remote control your PC with your iPad? It is possible!  Use Skype to bring in a guest speaker related to a topic you are currently teaching.

6. Set clear expectations for caring for technology

When you have limited technology in the classroom, it’s even more important to make sure kids take care of it. Whether it’s a computer or device (iPad, video camera, digital camera, etc.) in your classroom, you have to let kids know how to handle it. Let them know what to do and what happens when something gets broken. Show your students what a privilege it is to have the technology in the classroom.

7. Let parents know when students need to use tech at home

If and when you plan on assigning a project for students that require a computer, you need to be sure to inform their parents. At the beginning of each school year, I send home a parent survey, and one of the questions is, “Do you have a computer at home? If so, is your child able to use it for homework?” If there is no computer at home, or the computer needs to be used by the parent for work purposes, then the public library is always a good option. I’ve also let parents know that their child can stay after school or come a little early to work on the computer if needed. If you set a deadline for a tech-integrated project and parents are well informed of all the deadlines, then be sure follow through as if it were any other assignment in your classroom.

8. Get more technology by involving the community

It’s always nice when a donation comes just in the nick of time! Ask parents and other community members to donate some old/used iPhones, iPads, iPods, ear buds, or microphones for your classroom. Check to see if local businesses are getting rid of some of their old computers and upgrading to new ones. Maybe they could donate some of the old ones to the school or you classroom? Is there a way to specifically raise funds for technology at your school? Find out! If not, talk to your principal and see what you can do. If you work in a public or charter school consider signing-up at Donors Choose and see if you can get a little more tech for your classroom!

My favorite classroom tech tools

TECH THAT COSTS $$

*Grade Cam

*Brain POP & Brain POP Jr.

*iMovie

*Glogster.edu 

*Discover Education

*Prezi ($$ for student accounts)

*Animoto ($$ for student accounts)

FREE TECH

*Socrative

*Animoto (free, but very limited account)

*Photostory

*Vimeo (requires an email)

*Blabberize (requires an email)

*Prezi (free for teachers only)

*Big Huge Labs

*Voki (free for teachers only)

*Skype

*Google Drive

*Create QR Codes

*Class Dojo

If you have any additional comments or ideas/experiences that you have had with the “little tech” in your classroom, please feel free to comment below. Thank you for reading! I hope that this post inspires you to incorporate more technology in your classrooms. You can find my TpT Store (Science Girl Lessons) here.