SEFE 230-02 Blog

I have just finished my student teaching at West Hill Elementary in Sharon Pa. I had a sixteen week placement in a first grade classroom. In this district the students have a technology class once a week for forty-five minutes. Because of my longer placement, I was able to see what first graders were doing throughout several months. From what I had viewed, the ONLY items ever talked about or printed out from technology were pictures using a program that has picture stamps. Sometimes it would have their names typed at the top but mostly just scribbles. Now don't get me wrong, I know they are still little, but I'm sure they could be doing something more beneficial. At my job, which is in the same district but after-school, we have the students do twenty minutes a day of a program called Plato. It has games and questions focusing on each child's specific level. This is something I think the children should be doing during technology. Or have them exploring new technology like the ones discussed in our read and respond articles. I think schools really need to focus on what they are doing in that short time period that the students are actually exposed to technology.