Us interns at Tri-County have been told on multiple occasions that "If you can make it at Tri-County, you can make it anywhere." I don't present this quote to seem more capable or a better educator than anyone else in our cohort, as I'm sure that all of our group could handle themselves well in such an environment. I also don't mean to say I'm doing super well in my placement, because I'm hanging on for dear life in reality. Rather, I present this quote because I think in terms of the technological resources in schools today, Tri-County is definitely at the lowest end of the spectrum, and managing and navigating this fact has been an eye-opening and enlightening experience.
An idea of the technology that we are able to use in the school: There are two computer labs, with about 20 computers in each space. The space as a whole, however, is seen as a dreaded class to enter. This is because the room remains at an alarmingly high temperature, the computers are old Dell desktops that function far below our ideal level, and some of the computers have stopped working altogether. As an English intern, it is certainly the case that I'd want students working and improving upon their computer composition skills in order to prepare them for future assignments and pieces they may need to create. However, acknowledging the lack of resources, as well as the hinderance that this computer lab ends up being to learning, my mentor teacher chooses to have students pretty much handwrite all their work in our classroom, which has pros and cons.
Moving into our classroom, the technology is non-existent except for one computer, at my mentor's desk used for attendance and email. All the work is done in notebooks or on the chalkboard, and I feel that the students are getting such a short end of the stick in comparison to other schools in the Berkeley and Southfield school districts just a couple miles away.
I read my peer Mr. Antuma's blog about the same topic, and I think he hit the nail on the head about the hugely missed opportunity for technology in the placement, with the topic of cellphones. It is an epidemic problem in the school over misuse of phones, as students constantly have their attention away from the content of class and rather on the contents of their devices. I have yet to see any utilization of mobile phones for advancing learning in the classroom, but I don't say that to put down the efforts of the staff at the school. Rather, I think it presents the lack of motivation on the part of the majority of the students to be in the school environment and learn. I think a great topic for discussion amongst staff and students could be how to better manage cell phone use, as well as re-direct this use to a manner in which students and teachers are benefiting, working together to close the technological gap that they face at TCEC.
Kareem,
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to you, I have also heard this saying multiple times and I would agree that it aptly describes the technology situation at Tri-County. Your analysis of the technology within the classroom and the computer labs is certainly accurate for me as well. I share your dread of the computer labs, but I had not realized how much more of a hindrance this would be for an English class. I am sorry to hear that the lack of functioning computers is a persisting problem for you and your mentor. I also share your (and Jesse's) frustration regarding the constant use of cellphones for non-academic purposes. However, I think your idea to turn this around and make cellphones a positive influence on our students' education is a fantastic idea! Perhaps all of us interns can get the ball rolling on this discussion you speak of and make it happen!
It's really unfortunate for the students that they don't have the access to technology like students at most other schools. I think it is also unfortunate for you and your fellow interns that you don't have a lot of access to technology to experiment ways to use it in the classroom and apply what we are learning in EDUC 504 to your interning experience. I am curious if you have been able to brainstorm any ideas of how to integrate cell phones into the classroom. It seems like many of your students have access to them so that would solve a little of the access issue, but it also sounds like it could create more problems if the students aren't using it for the right purposes.
ReplyDeleteHere's my two centavos... You could get a grant for some new technology for you school. Even a handful of Nooks would change things for the better. I'm sure there are people out there who want to help the students at TCEC, the task is to find them. (Not all that hard for a super-efficient, go-getter like you, Karim, but where's the time for that? It would require research, a proposal... Maybe with the same energy and imagination you come up with some way to make status quo work better. Find out why it's so hot. See if you can fix it. Or figure out a way to make one computer work for two students. Personal computers really weren't designed for more than one user at a time, I know, but is there any way to get it to work? We expect to be able to do what we want as teachers and have the resources to do it. Sometimes though, we have to start from what we CAN do based on the resources at our disposal and let that determine what we do. This won't be the most intractable problem you solve in your career in education, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteWow, yeah, I have been blessed to have a placement with a pretty wide array of technology. It really does allow you access to a whole new realm of possibility, even if we don't need it always. That part about cell phones is true in most placements, although I am sure at TCEC it is true that you say it's an epidemic, and something has to be done about that. Something has to motivate the students, but how to use that in order to get them to learn content I am not sure. Also, what you said about just miles away there are schools with more accessibility is such a problem everywhere. Even just comparing Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti public schools we see the huge difference in education, technology, and just overall perception, when they are just a bus fare apart. The systems in place, especially in education, just work against TCEC students so much and it is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteKareem,
ReplyDeleteMan, this is a tough one. Humble advice: when you take over in March, see if your mentor will allow you to "experiment" with your own cell phone policy. Then have an honest conversation with the kids and set some guidelines. Can't hurt to try!