Christen+Jacobs



I am a classroom primary school teacher currently teaching Year 3. I have been dabbling with Web 2 technology for many years but don't feel as though anything I have done in this area can be pinpointed as something that has vastly improved student learning. Yet. My school has purchased an Edublogs Campus subscription and the school website now contains a link to the campus site which hosts a number of blogs. I find this a valuable communication tool and it allows staff to introduce students to the technology and associated cyber safety issues. Using an interactive whiteboard daily certainly has the potential to improve student engagement. However, if used badly it can have exactly the oppostite effect. Good teaching will always be more about the teacher's capacity to connect with students in order to engage them in thought provoking, purposeful and active learning than the tools they use. However, there is no doubt that web 2 technology, the world wide web and a massive screen at the front of the classroom are more exciting tools than those afforded the teachers of yesteryear. Our challenge is to take advantage of the relevant features of these tools, and not get bogged down with time wasting gimmicks. I have described myself as a moth around a flame with my dogged attraction to new technology, but I am getting better at either dismissing it instantly or integrating it immediately. Organising digital information for instant retreival is a skill that plays an important part in this. Like the neurons in your brain, you need strong pathways or you can't access what is there.