When you’re presented with your first set of class devices, your first reaction is probably a highly energetic YES! Give me all the things! Teach me all the tech! It’s difficult to be patient when there’s so much to absorb, but we can benefit from slowing down a little and letting the tech come to us.
I’ve worked with chromebooks for the past five years and I still have to remind myself that this is a process that requires extreme patience with both the tech and myself. Piloting tech too quickly often results in frustration and overwhelm, which leads teachers to want to Office Space (you know what I mean) the chromebooks and go back to paper and pen forever. An example: it took me almost a year and a half to really internalize how to grade online, and it’s still a work in progress. This is the beauty of teaching with tech; we learn to be flexible and patient; we learn when to let something go and when to fight through the struggle (in my case, I was not willing to give up on Doctopus/Goobric, and I’m so glad I fought for it).
So, be kind to yourself. There’s no need to be the new Alice Keeler (though I would recommend bookmarking her excellent site AND following her on Twitter @alicekeeler), and there’s no need to fret when something doesn’t go as planned. I like to try to master ONE extension or app per year - that’s it. Trust that the process will be challenging , but that with patience (and a willingness to let your students help you!) you’ll be teaching your colleagues your new favorite platform in no time.
No comments:
Post a Comment