{"id":663,"date":"2013-07-10T00:55:42","date_gmt":"2013-07-10T00:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/?p=663"},"modified":"2013-07-11T02:53:29","modified_gmt":"2013-07-11T02:53:29","slug":"technology-in-your-classes-nour-alkhaliday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/2013\/07\/10\/technology-in-your-classes-nour-alkhaliday\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology in your classes – Nour Alkhalidy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Truly Integrating Technology —\u00a0Nour Alkhalidy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a computer teacher who works at a school in a poor village where technology is kind of a big deal.\u00a0 Some of my students don\u2019t have access to the Internet in their houses. Many do not even have a PC at home. At school, some teachers don\u2019t know how to use computers. Others only utilize<\/em> them in some way. It is rare to find teachers who are really integrating<\/em> computers and technology into their classrooms. I am one of the few who is trying to do this. I have been\u00a0working at this for eight years.<\/p>\n

Being a teacher who is trying to integrate <\/em>technology in such a context has been a little bit challenging for me.\u00a0 Still, although I have had some discouraging moments, my mission has been and is to create a rich environment for my students by introducing new technologies into my classroom \u2013 technologies that actively engage and motivate learners while helping me successfully deliver content.<\/p>\n

Before planning<\/em> to integrate a new technology I always consider two issues: \u00a0my students\u2019 weak basic computer skills<\/em> and the school\u2019s limited Internet access<\/em>.\u00a0 Given these parameters, I always look for simple tools that can be used offline. As I design my lesson, I think about how a simple tool can be used to enhance clear curriculum goal and try to incorporate a strategy (often a cooperative strategy) related to such a goal. Then I design activities, making sure each separate group within my class has a task or problem to solve. I also think through how much time a task will take, what roles each student in each group will have, what instructions to give, and what the final output will be.<\/p>\n

Personally, If the technology tool I have chosen fulfills subject content goals, improves computer, thinking, and collaboration skills, \u00a0engages and motivates students, and more<\/em> importantly convinces me that I cannot proceed without it, then for me I have successfully integrated technology in my classroom.<\/p>\n

I usually prepare my lessons using Powerpoint<\/strong> — the old tool that will never die — to explain tasks and instructions. \u00a0Sometimes I use it as a learning tool to design a virtual tour or micro-lesson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I also use Microsoft\u2019s FrontPage to design webquest<\/a>s, \u00a0online scavenger hunt<\/a>s or 5Eonline research module<\/a>s. Multi-media tools, mindmaps and word cloud applications are also at the top of my technology list to promote visual literacy.<\/p>\n

For project work, I tell students they can bring their parents\u2019 cell phones to class in order to capture pictures, record their voices and do interviews. We also use cell phones along with Microsoft Photo Story<\/a>\u00a0or Movie Maker<\/a> \u00a0to create videos that showcase work, summarize ideas,\u00a0 display knowledge on a subject,\u00a0 or share thoughts about the project we\u2019re doing. They also use cell phones to gain internet access that allows them to extend their learning by finding additional information they then add to a FrontPage website made by them.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been involved in some global projectson Twitter like Michal Ann C\u2019s (@Cerniglia<\/a>)\u00a0Sharing Perceptions<\/em> Project<\/a>\u00a0in which my 9th<\/sup> grade students in Jordan shared their\u00a0 thoughts about the U.S. with Michael-Ann\u2019s 6th<\/sup> grade students. \u00a0In Jordan, my students and I used Tagxedo<\/a>\u00a0and Wordle<\/a>\u00a0to present brainstorming ideas, and Voki<\/a>to express our thanks for being involved in the project.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes, I have 10-15 minutes \u00a0at the end of a class for a group game. Playing games enhances students\u2019 attitudes and motivates them. For example, a simple game like FreeCellor Tetrisoffers some opportunities for group collaboration and improving thinking skills, while a Rapid Typing Game improves \u00a0basic computer skill and kills classroom boredom.<\/p>\n

I may not have iPads, iPods or laptops in my classroom and my students aren\u2019t adequately digitally savvy learners equipped\u00a0with the needed skills, but I certainly believe that any technology can be powerful — even the simplest one if it is being used in the right way. It\u2019s not about what tool to integrate but how to exploit its effectiveness <\/em>and add real value to the learning process.<\/p>\n

As a computer teacher, my role is to mainly help my students benefit from technology\u2019s opportunities, improve their computer and information literacies skills (along with other 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century skills), and finally to reduce the big gap between what the world is like in my poor village with the life my students will have in college and beyond. If I can do those things, then I consider all the challenges I face worth every effort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Connect with Chuck, Scott, Tamas, Vladimira, Nour, \u00a0Ann and other iTDi Associates, Mentors, and Faculty by joining iTDi Community.\u00a0Sign Up For A Free iTDi Account<\/a>\u00a0to create your profile and get immediate access to our social forums and trial lessons from our\u00a0English For Teachers<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Teacher Development<\/a>\u00a0courses.<\/p>\n

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\nYour support makes a difference.<\/h2>\n


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Truly Integrating Technology —\u00a0Nour Alkhalidy I am a computer teacher who works at a school in a poor village where technology is kind of a big deal.\u00a0 Some of my students don\u2019t have access to the Internet in their houses. Many do not even have a PC at home. At school, some teachers don\u2019t know … Continue reading Technology in your classes – Nour Alkhalidy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-sampler-1","category-technology-in-classes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itdi.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}