675 - Introduction
Welcome to my Blog
My name is Paige Schoolman, I am in my 22nd year as a Technology Teacher at Minooka Community High School. I teach mostly 9th and 10th graders but will occasionally be given some sections with 11th & 12th graders. Most of my schedule is filled with an Introduction to Computer Applications course. This course is designed to be an introduction to all the technologies available at MCHS. I am always looking for new and innovative ideas for this course. In addition to I.I.T. I also teach an Google Apps course as well as Microsoft Certificiation Prep.
As a technology teacher I have a high level of comfort with old and new technologies. As an 22 year veteran I have seen technology change and have learned to be a life-long learner when it comes to teaching technology. Each year is a new adventure and look forward to the challenges and discoveries that we make in my classroom.
My current favorite tech tool is Google Classroom. Our school transitioned to a google school 6 years ago. I had the pleasure of piloting the use of Google Classroom and Google tools in my IIT classes. I have found this tool to be an amazing way to communicate with students as well as to distribution center for assignments.
Our School is not yet a 1:1 school. Our feeder districts have become 1:1 and it is the goal of the IT and Administration departments to become 1:1 in the next 5 years. Currently we are overhauling the technological infrastructure that would necessary to support 1:1 with our 2600+ students.
In 22 years, I have daily failures and successes with Technology Education. Mostly I have learned that something is bound to go wrong sometime in the semester and I have learned to adapt and overcome with almost any situation. In reality, if a technology fails in my class, it won't be the end of the world. We simply learn to work with what we have and collectively find an alternative to accomplish our tasks.
Our School is not yet a 1:1 school. Our feeder districts have become 1:1 and it is the goal of the IT and Administration departments to become 1:1 in the next 5 years. Currently we are overhauling the technological infrastructure that would necessary to support 1:1 with our 2600+ students.
In 22 years, I have daily failures and successes with Technology Education. Mostly I have learned that something is bound to go wrong sometime in the semester and I have learned to adapt and overcome with almost any situation. In reality, if a technology fails in my class, it won't be the end of the world. We simply learn to work with what we have and collectively find an alternative to accomplish our tasks.
posted by Mr. Schoolman @ October 09, 2017
8 Comments
8 Comments:
Hi Paige,
That’s awesome that you teach a class on all things Google! I just started using Google Classroom with my kindergarteners and I love it! I look forward to learning with you in this class!
Ashley
Hello Paige, I can see from your bio and blog design that you are very well versed in technology. I have seen a few demonstrations on Google Classroom and have tried to teach myself some in the past few months. I was wondering how you first introduced and implemented Google Classroom with your students?
Being in a Computer lab it was pretty seamless for me. I begin each semester by providing the "Code" to our G-Classroom page. This is the first activity we do as a class. We discuss how G-Classroom will be our communication tool throughout the semester. On the first day I have a simple assignment where they download an image from the internet and upload it into google classroom.
From the first day to the last I will post an "Announcement" each day that provides a warmup activity for a bell ringer and a list of the skills we will learn and the activities the students will do. In addition to the announcement, I also handout all assignments through "assignment" posts in Google Classroom. These Posts will have Student Directions, Class Notes, and Rubrics attached to it. Sometimes I even record the lesson for the day and post that within the assignment as well.
It works great for my class because each student has a computer in the class. The students quickly learn the routine to look in Google Classroom as soon as they get in the class and begin their warmup.
I believe Google Classroom can be supportive tool for traditional classrooms as well. Things I may do if I was in a traditional classroom include :
- Posting Class Notes
- Posting Assignments/Worksheets (in case the student loses it)
- Recording and Posting Lectures
- Incorporating Google Forms to transform Paper/Pen worksheets or reviews into a Google Form that can provide the teacher with instant feedback. .
Last bit of advice that I learned in Google Classroom is to create a numbering system for your assignments. Start the Name all documents with in each assignment with the same number. This will make it easier to locate all materials associated with the assignment and will also help to organize your items in Google classroom. Google Classroom will make copies of everything in your Drive. The numbering system helps to keep your assignments in categorized by units and in chronological order.
Wow! It sounds like you are well-versed in technology! Hopefully we can learn from you as well. I have been using Google Classroom for the last several years and wouldn't know what to do without it. Since we went 1:1 last year, it has been wonderful!
Hi Paige,
I would love to teach all about techology, that sounds like so much fun! I bet you have seen a giant change in technology courses during your time as a teacher. The only thing that worries me about teaching only technology is the rate of change. How do you keep up with all the new apps and changes when it comes to technology? I feel like keeping current is a job in itself!
-Jackie Hruska
It is a job in itself. We try to not get to ahead of ourselves. Each year we ask the departments which technology applications they are using and where they see deficiencies in our student's ability.
In my Intro class we try to give a quick overview of a lot of things. The goal is to make them comfortable to click on buttons and learn how a program works. I want them to leave my room with some tricks that I have taught them but also with the mindset that it is ok to experiment with technology so that they can become self-learners.
One thing that has helped me is to not be afraid to fail and not to be afraid to learn from the students. To be honest sometimes I will be in the middle of a lesson and a kid may say. Oh I did this in "XYZ" application. We use it as a learning moment and the next class we may open that application and learn to use it.
Hi Paige, I look forward to your insights as we work through this course. With 17 years in the "tech biz" I'm sure you have seen a lot of change and have accumulated a lot of knowledge! I look forward to working with you!
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