Most if not all schools that have computers use Ms Office despite other options being available. Developments buy google may change the way we view standard office software, Word Processor, Power Point / Presentation Software, Spreadsheets. The only reasons I can think off why schools will not take advantage of this sort of online software is data retrieval and backup but it does indicate the importance of BANDWIDTH!
Often students are asked to hand in drafts of work but the idea of drafts to me is from an era of hard-copy. I draft as I go using a word processor iteratively, write, re-write, read aloud, get the computer to read it, print preview and finally print the assignment off. The only reason I print things is because I am asked to. I find it strange that our attitude to student work is still hard-copy…. But.. I still enjoy reading hard-copy , contradictory.. perhaps
source: http://www.slideshare.net/julielindsay
A good presentation about using technology beyond applications. As teachers we should be using technology as a tool, learning how to use the tool is important, the need is to move beyond the tool and towards using technology to communicate, create and learn.
The August issue of Teacher magazine was dedicated to the “issue of integration of technology” into secondary schools. This “issue” has been around for some time now and I think it should move from being an issue to being an imperative. What astounds me is parents are not up in arms about the lack of use of computers in all classrooms; could you imaging the up roar if items such as blackboards or overhead projectors were “integration items” and so in limited supply and often purchased by teachers and parents or purchased in limited quantities that they have to be shared.
Many, many areas of work are heavily reliant on the use of a computer, usually when you start a new job you get a desk and a desktop computer so you can do your work. Almost every teaching job I have had you either had to supply your own computer or share one with the rest of the staffroom; currently I lease a laptop through my school at a very cheap rate and I admit it is cheaper than buying it myself out right and the service I receive is quite good. I am lucky that my employer has made a decent computer available for my use this is the exception rather than the norm.
The use of hand writing in the work place has reduced dramatically as people use email and increasingly online web tools to communicate. Despite these obvious changes in the workplace and in our homes many classrooms still have a preponderance to focus on hand written assignments and hard copy submissions, interestingly students usually take the handwritten content home and redraft it in a digital form a webpage or a PowerPoint presentation. I have nothing against learning how to handwrite, it is an important communication skill but when was the last time you had to hand write a letter to someone apart from taking quick notes or leaving a message on your desk or on the kitchen table at home.
Information communication technologies need to become an integral part of classroom practice. Hand written and sketched plans are a great way for students to gather their ideas and discuss them with their peers however the leap to using a computer mediated presentation form also needs to be done in the classroom rather than as an adjunct to be completed outside of the classroom. The challenge for teachers is to make the move and utilize available hardware and software, it does not need to be expensive or difficult just start with Word, PowerPoint, Blogs and free website hosting and see where it takes you and more importantly your students.
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