Five Exciting Steps Into the Future for Educators

FIVE EXCITING STEPS INTO THE FUTURE FOR EDUCATORS

By Bob Pauley

Step 1 – MAKE A COMMITMENT TO COMPUTERS. Strive for a computer- oriented classroom. My first classroom had one tattered and torn computer. By letting my principal and others know of my goals I was able to get 30 additional well-used but operational computers that had been scheduled for replacement in the lab. By arranging them in pods of three computers each I was able to implement teamwork, district approved software, Internet research andtactile teaching techniques. I write lessons that require Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Publisher and try toemploy their every feature.

Step 2 – STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING. Experience is our living textbook. A student-centered learning environment is open, dynamic, trusting, respectful, and it promotes the natural desire and curiosity to learn. Students collaborate on meaningful, authentic problems that serve to further their understandings of the subject matter and themselves. This experiential learning involves the whole person – their feelings, thinking, goals, social skills, and intuition. The result is a person who is empowered to be a lifelong learner; a student who embraces his/her own abilities and is accepting of others.

Step 3 – DIGITIZE EVERYTHING. Require all work to be filed electronically. Save some trees! Use a scanner wherever possible to eliminate the use of paperwork. Create lesson plans and individual online file folders for every student and let that one well-organized location lie at the heart of their world while in class. It contains their attendance, conduct and grade. It should house their every assignment from the beginning until the end of the semester and password protected so that only the student, his/her parent(s) and the teacher have access to it. The parents become an integral part of the learning team for every student. Students quickly learn and retain outstanding organizational skills.

Step 4 – OWN YOUR WEBSITE. File your lesson plans on your website. When the student arrives in the classroom he/she knows to go directly and quietly to the website for further instructions – even if I am away. There they will find tests, projects and assignments. They will begin the day’s assigned work diligently and immediately. Any student not quiet and attentive will lose all computer privileges for that day and relegated to a textbook or handwritten assignment. The student is able to complete and file the day’s lesson from their sick bed or anyplace on planet earth whether they are in attendance or not.

Step 5 – HAVE FUN! Make your assignments enjoyable. Students love certain things – sporting events, pizzas, video games, cell phones, photography and photo editing, flip videos, software with pizzazz, loud music, sport cars, magic tricks, gadgetry, SpongeBob and comic books. Work exciting material into your lesson plans. Access some cool iMac computers if possible to utilize iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD and PhotoBooth. Seek out fun educational websites and downloads such as SketchUp,

GoogleEarth, ComicLife,alienryderflex.com (bold graphics), xtranormal.com (creating avatars) and shapecollage.com. Make your class a delight – the one kids can’t wait to get to.