Sunday, June 3, 2007

Wikis and Barriers to Technology Use in the Classroom

After exploring some educational wikis, I found some benefits of using technology with students. Using technology with students captures their interest and raises enthusiasm in learning and participating in class discussions. Also, using technology in the elementary classroom now prepares students for the immediate future, for high school, and college. Teaching students how to use wikis for research will save them a tremendous amount of time, time that they can pour into out-of-the-classroom activities and interests.

Some challenges of using technology with my students are the usual barriers. One major barrier in my school is not having enough updated computers for our students. There is an average of four or five computers in the fourth through sixth grade classrooms and two or three in the Kinder through third. We don't have a computer lab and having just two to four outdated computers in the classroom is a challenge to get some projects done. Another challenge in using technology with my students is the lack of tech support in the school. When we begin experiencing technology problems that I can't solve, I really don't have a "go to" person that will come quickly and is knowledgeable. Interruptions such as these on a daily basis can be very challenging in keeping up with student technology use.

Blog Post Assignment #3 for John Rivera's Learning & Teaching with the Read/Write Web

4 comments:

John Rivera said...

As teachers, we are increasingly having to face being expected to handle issues on our own. It seems that others see us as being self-sufficient when we really must depend on each other and others outside our circle to help us with our own weaknesses. It bodes well that you are taking the intitiative to pursue classes such as this one to help you grasp the use of technology further.

Robert H said...

The problem with outdated computers is that they cannot handle Web 2.0 applications. Many of our older computers crash when you try to watch any streaming video.

Verdugo Hills Athletics said...

I found wikis to be less apealing for some topics than others.
I like blogs for exhibiting understanding of new topics, but I think Wikis can be an excellent resource for review and for study guides.

Anonymous said...

People should read this.