The Lady Geek's Topic of the Day: Classroom Tech: The Evolution

Tales of the Lady Geek

The Lady Geek's Topic of the Day:  Classroom Tech: The Evolution   

Greetings dear readers, the Lady Geek here bringing you exciting news in the technological world.  You know, it's been quite a few years since this Lady was a small Geekling first entering the exciting, fast paced world of Kindergarten.  Back then we walked into a classroom decorated with brightly colored alphabet charts and smiling numerical pictures, there were play areas and board books and two of the most highly advanced things that technology offered at the time. That's right, both a record player as well as a tape recorder!

Oh those were the days! Well, here it is, the year 2012 and in a lot of America, education has come a long way.  We've gone from black boards to Smartboards and even from 'brick and mortar' public schools to Cyber Charter Schools. Now, thanks to recent reasearch and studies in several states, many kiindergarteners are set to begin the new school year with IPads and laptops.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the times, they are a changin'!

Yeah, pretty much this is what my school days bring to mind

It's hard to believe that at the start of this Geek Girl's technological journey, a calculator was something new to be introduced into the classroom. During my awesome school years as "Teacher's Pet", desktop computers were new to the classroom, by the time I'd become a High School student in Philadelphia we'd reached a point where computer education was something to be learned on the Apple II E's that lived in our lone computer lab and we learned basic coding on those while learning proper keyboarding techniques in a a lab dedicated to electric typewriters and the highlight of the day was being allowed free access to the school library's computer system.

A few months after I entered college, there were whole labs dedicated to computers. Of course, back then the computers were just huge expensive typewriters with shiny bells and brightly lit whistles, but it was big to my young eyes.  Added to the fact that tape recorders were now allowed in certain classrooms to help you remember lectures and study for tests and I felt like the world was now completely open for me.

By the time I'd graduated, laptops were becoming a standard of my college life, kids were bringing them back and forth to class, recording lectures, taking notes and conducting research on our schools' networks while in class. It was about that time that I began to see my future.  While I was still learning about English Literature and fast coming to understand that teaching was not going to be a part of my future, I met our school's tech support guy.  A lovely deaf geek named Joe who, upon seeing my genuine interest in both learning his language as well as following what his graceful fingers were doing inside the powerful machines that had become old hat to me at that point, took the time to begin teaching me both.  This Geek Girl in training was fast on her way to becoming the Lady Geek before you today!

Yep, that's how I remember leaving that place

That brings me to today in technology.  As I prepare my children for their educational growth with carefully chosen lesson plans and strategically 'educational' outings to fill their summer hours, I find that I am  utilizing more and more technological advances in their daily activities. For instance, when I'm teaching the three year old how to write his alphabet and name, we use crayons and paper, some paints and then to reinforce the lesson, I pull up old Sesame Street segments on YouTube. As he progresses to learning the phonetics of words, I'm streaming old episodes of "The Electric Company" and incorporating some interactive books on his 'toy computer'.  

For my first grader to be, we're practicing 'site words' with Netflix and some nifty apps on mommy's tablet, thus reinforcing her learning goals with educational computer games and practicing more advanced math and science from around the Web.  Then there are the teenagers, not as easily fooled but still game because they each have their own computer with strict orders that research papers, book reports and other materials be produced before any 'fun' things can officially happen such as Facebook or World of Warcraft. 

During our 'nature' outings we're constantly referring to our tablets, using our smart phones for reference material, scavenger hunts and using the GPS because there seems to be a gene in our family that gives us all faulty senses of direction.  That's their home life. At school their lives are so much different than mine was at each stage of their lives it can be a bit daunting. 

For instance, while vocabulary building is still highly regarded and graded, things like penmanship no longer seem to matter, teachers prefer most everything not involving take home quizzes and math be computer generated with 'professional grade' covers, graphics and of course, proper use of "Spell Check".  Children with late assignments are allowed to email them to the teachers and they have the ability to follow their grades through the Philadelphia School District's online portal, so no surprises at report card time. 

Then there's the massive amount of physical technology becoming integrated into their actual classrooms. The old chalkboards have been replaced by Dry-Erase and Interactive Whiteboards. Last year's kindergarten class had access to an in class laptop and the school's computer lab where they supplemented their education with online curriculum and learning games.  My seventh grader's entire English class was brought to him on via a smartphone/laptop/whiteboard combination. This is important especially for him because while he tests off the charts in intelligence, he has a misfireing in his brain that just doesn't connect between visual clues and writing assignments and for the first time in his academic career, he was able to bring home grades that reflected his intelligence.

This year, in some parts of Pennsylvania, there will be IPads in the classroom. The early studies are showing that using the tablets helps reinforce primary lessons and the educational Apps available are top quality.  Some reports are already talking about the possibility of replacing text books with e-books over the next few years.

So what's next in classroom tech?  Well for thirty nine states, Pennsylvania included, it seems that actual public virtual cyber charter schools are the wave of the future.  These are state funded programs that  offer the same quality education across the board, crossing the notorious "Digital Divide" between inner city and suburban education. These schools offer a virtual classroom supplemented with scheduled interactions and, in some cases, on site visits and are a great option for parents concerned about their children's academic future. These schools provide Internet access, computers and printers for children who can't afford them, allows students the creativity to create their own learning path and the freedom for children to learn at their own pace.  Some of the offerings in my state include programs with college credit and even some that, if you do well enough, allows you to graduate high school with an Associates Degree.

There's a lot of controversy surrounding Cyber education right now, but if these schools keep producing classes that allow 70% of graduates to transition to two to four year colleges,  I can't help but look forward to that classroom of the future.  

So here we are in 2012 with the future of computer technology offering limitless possibilities.  Tell me, what innovations do you think are going to come in the next few years?

Written by:  MaryAnn Paris
Follow MaryAnn on Twitter