Barkley Bridge Elementary School is celebrating its 20th year as a school this year. Though I was not the principal at the time, I can distinctly remember when the school opened because my oldest son began kindergarten here at BB in that very first year. As I began to reminisce about those early days I thought, "Am I still wearing any of the clothes that were hanging in my closet twenty years ago? I'm not! So why would I continue to teach and lead exactly the way I did twenty years ago?" I don't. And for good reason.
I am not one who advocates throwing out every lesson from the past, but there are very few that could not use some tweaking.
Most particularly, think about the use of tech. "Substitution" is not the level for which we all strive on the SAMR model, but it's a start. There are VERY FEW projects that could not be replaced with tech presentations. Students can even record their own voices and allow avatars to be the visual!
Tech is the tool of the future. It's THEIR tool. I am not going to submit my reports using a feather and an inkwell. The same courtesy should be extended to the children I am growing!
I am not one who advocates throwing out every lesson from the past, but there are very few that could not use some tweaking.
Most particularly, think about the use of tech. "Substitution" is not the level for which we all strive on the SAMR model, but it's a start. There are VERY FEW projects that could not be replaced with tech presentations. Students can even record their own voices and allow avatars to be the visual!
Tech is the tool of the future. It's THEIR tool. I am not going to submit my reports using a feather and an inkwell. The same courtesy should be extended to the children I am growing!