Field Project Continues

As we entered the second week of the field project I’ve noticed a couple of things about the integration of technology. First, the teacher needs to be really proficient with the tools. With the kids there are constantly little “problems” popping up and the teacher needs to be able to help resolve them very quickly or else he/she can lose control of the rest of the class while trying to troubleshoot one students tech issue. The better he/she knows the tools the easier it will be to quickly address any problems so that students can continue working and he/she can move on to the next problem! Secondly, there are always a few kids so enthralled by the technology that they want to “play” with the tools in their free time. Let them do it because they can then be a great resource for helping other students learn to troubleshoot their own problems! This has been really evident as the class I’ve been working with has begun using Palm handhelds in their classroom for this social studies project. Aready, several class “techies” have emerged and begun to provide support for the rest of the class. It’s exciting to watch!