This got me thinking about how classroom technology is changing so rapidly from year to year. It wasn’t too long ago that I graduated high school, and we didn’t have a single SmartBoard in the building that wasn’t glitchy. I understand the benefits of the tech – ready-made activities and streamlines paperless grading – but I’m having a hard time seeing the “Oh wow, how did we ever learn before this stuff?!” value. I’m not anti-tech by any means, but my favorite classes in high school always involved more straight teacher-student interaction, away from computer screens and projectors.

It’s also been shown that kids learn better from taking notes longhand than they do from typing them. So I get that some of these new features and programs can make teachers’ and students’ lives a little easier, but some of these big pushes for technology don’t seem like they would accomplish a whole lot more than the ‘good ole fashioned’ way of doing things.

A special Ed teacher serves as a permanent fixture in each of the classrooms I’m involved in. She sometimes pulls the kids out during individual reading time, but for the most part, she just helps them finish their work on time during the class period.

It’s pretty cool to see how the other kids make sure those students feel included in the classroom; everyone pays attention when they talk, and they’re usually picked first when groups are chosen.