Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Don't Take It For Granted: Teaching in a 1:1

To all staff working in a 1:1, and specifically the Newell-Fonda high school staff, currently wrapping up their second year of 1:1, and to our 5-8 staff who will be added to the 1:1 next Fall. When you operate in a 1:1 it is easy to take for granted what we have our hands on, which is the ability to do things differently for kids. To engage and challenge them in learning. Having the students take control of that learning, and leveraging technology to differentiate learning to fit the needs of each student.

Below is video from Russ Goerend, a 6th grade teacher from Waukee Middle School. You may need to watch the video more than once, because his son is pretty cute. He also has been a person I follow on Twitter, and from my interactions with him, both in person and through Twitter, he gets it. I don't want to put words into Russ' mouth, but in my mind, Russ understands that the 1:1 environment is not about the machine, but rather about changing teaching and learning. I got permission from Russ to share his video here, but I encourage you to check out his blog and comment on his ideas.



Make the most out of working in a 1:1 environment. Will it take work? absolutely, but if done correctly, it could be some of the most meaningful work for both teacher and student. Thanks to Russ for sharing his ideas, the guy deserves to teach in 1:1! So while Russ continues to wonder what it would be like to teach in a 1:1 school, those in a school need to take advantage of it every day. As you progress on the journey, make it about teaching and learning, not about the computer!
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2 comments:

  1. Connie DoonanApril 21, 2010 at 10:07 AM

    In my humble opinion, Russ appears to be an excellent teacher whether he is at a 1:1 school or not. He understands the importance of variety in what and how he teaches, the importance of collaboration in the classroom, the importance of face time, etc. Because he obviously enjoys technology, it appears that he and is students would benefit from a 1:1 environment, but I think his students are already lucky to have him as a teacher.

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  2. Jo VetterJuly 26, 2010 at 8:05 AM

    I would agree with Connie that Russ appears to be an excellent teacher and his district and students are benefiting mightily from his presence. I was initially worried that his ideas for 1:1 would eliminate his "face time" with his students, so I was delighted when he explained that he would still read to them "live" at the end of the day. However, even more delightful was the notion that he would read to them AT THEIR LEVEL on the computer. Here is a very strong example of using the computer to leverage our time. Though Russ will have to spend more time preparing to teach, during the actual experience, he will be more available to his students.

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