My first observation placement of the semester was in an eighth grade classroom at St. Dominic Catholic School in Shaker Heights. A major aspect of the classroom is that each student has their own Chromebook to utilize in their learning under their teacher’s directions. The subjects I observed were social studies and English, so I observed the purposes of Chromebooks in those subjects. However, for any subject, the grade’s Google Classroom page was accessible through their Chromebooks and was a major aspect of technology in the classroom. For example, my cooperating teacher was introducing a social studies presentation project and everything related to the project was posted on the Google Classroom social studies page. The students could go back at any time to reread the directions, look at her example template for reference, and eventually submit their presentation all in the same place. The use of Chromebooks in the classroom also helped maximize class time on this assignment because everyone could work individually on their own device. I have also seen the students utilize their Chromebooks in social studies through students doing their own research if they are not sure on answer, want more clarification, or are especially interested on a certain topic. Ultimately, the use of Chromebooks in the classroom is useful for the students to be able to take their learning into their own hands. Furthermore, it helps hold students accountable for their education because their Chromebooks make everything easily accessible for them.
My cooperating teacher uses her own personal MacBook laptop in the classroom and will hook it up to the projector so that anything she is wanting to present to the students appears on the screen for them to easily see. MacBooks are very efficient for this because there are so many different softwares available on them that she can utilize in her teaching, like Microsoft, Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Classroom as a whole. Many times, she will outline all upcoming assignments and assessments on a Google Doc and project it while she goes through it with the students. In English class, she will use her computer and speaker to play the audiobook of whatever book they are currently reading so the students can follow along while it plays out loud. All in all, my cooperating teacher utilizes technology in the classroom to ensure an efficient and creative learning environment.
Julia's ED 386 Educational Technology Blog 