teachie or teachy Informal

Teachie of the Month – Shannon Waggoner (High School)

Shannon Waggoner doesn’t consider herself a techie or someone who is reinventing the classroom through the use of innovative technology ideas and systems.  As Shannon begins to list all the ways technology is embedded in her classroom, it is apparent that she might not be giving herself enough credit.

Pieces of technology being used in her classroom:
•    Google Sites Website (http://sites.google.com/site/wagsedsite/)
•    Students emailing assignments
•    On screen grading
•    All lectures converted to PowerPoint
•    Video Clips in lectures
•    Using technology projects to help differentiate assignments
•    Students taking class notes on cell phones
•    Online Web Quests
•    Converting traditional lesson plans to digital (scanning functionality on copy machines)
•    ……just to name a few

The beginning of the year started with Shannon investing a couple of weeks building a website for her classes.  As her knowledge of website design was limited, she decided to use Google sites (http://sites.google.com) to create a dynamic home for her classes.  The main goals of the website are to provide absent students a convenient way to access class materials and assignment and to keep parents informed and educated.  An extra bonus with the website is that any curriculum carried over into next year can be simply turned on or off….basically re-used.  This initial investment of time has paid off as it usually only take Shannon a couple of hours per week to update and maintain the site.

The great cell phone debate….not in these classes.  Students are encouraged to use cell phones as a means to summarize and effectively take notes.  Shannon and available support staff roam the room during lectures and make sure students are indeed, taking notes.  This approach has been a great way to embrace a significant shift of personal technology in the classroom.

Digital presentations, videos, web quests….what great ways to keep high school students engaged.  Shannon is a firm believer that these “digital natives” become superior learners when they can relate better to curriculum delivery and assignments.  The push to include as many appropriate technological strategies accomplishes that major goal.

While the list could go on and on, it is quite clear that although these embedded tools will be tweaked and improved, they will also be built upon.  It’s exciting to see how technology is becoming more and more the norm, how much it’s relied upon and how effective it can be when used well.  And although Shannon doesn’t consider her use of technology anything special, it is quite clear that her efforts and implementation are just that!