On Monday I had the pleasure of attending the Brenham ISD School Board meeting to watch firsthand as four of our WOW teachers gave testimonials about how having Chromebooks has affected their teaching. I could feel tears well up in my eyes as they said things like... "behavior problems have decreased" ... "achievement has increased" ... "best writing I've seen in years" ... "engagement, collaboration, on-demand learning." These are all things that we have known for a while in the Technology Department, but hearing it come from our teachers TO THE SCHOOL BOARD was amazing. I felt like a proud techno momma! As a result of these testimonials and the hard work of my boss, Rod Leer (@rodleer), the BISD School Board approved expenditures which will allow BISD to roll-out 1200 more Chromebooks next year. But, I'm not sweating it ... have you heard how easy Chromebooks are to support?! :) Piece of cake. :)
On Wednesday I had another proud techno momma moment as I watched 4th graders present "Geometry in the Real World" to a live audience. The students presented in front of a panel which consisted of myself, the campus Principal and Assistant Principal, the campus Instructional Coach and Counselor, our BISD Director of Technology (my boss!), the BISD Director of Instruction and Accountability AND the Superintendent! The students' goal was to prove that geometry is all around us and that we need it in our every day lives and for every profession. The classes chose which presentations should go before the panel. The 4th grade math teachers talked about the positive impact that using technology, like Google Apps for Education, has had on their classrooms. The first group that presented thanked their teacher for letting them do this project. We were all crying!
If you or your district have any hesitation AT ALL about "going Google" or choosing Chromebooks for use with students, please contact me. I would be happy to share our success stories with you and help you take the GOOGLE PLUNGE!
Hi! I'll be teaching English, Math, and Science to Grade 6's in Sweden this upcoming school year. I'm very excited and also nervous as it is my first year of teaching. That being said, the school has 3 sets of chromebooks that we are able to sign out.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you had any examples of ways to incorporate the tools into a junior level class? From what I understand we get a lot of creative leeway so long as the very vague expectations are covered.
Thanks!
Please explain the use of the name Techno Momma? I have been TechnoMomma™ for 13 years now
ReplyDeleteto find it here is disturbing.