Practicing Technology

Embedded video

Using an iPad in the Classroom



List of good resources

1. Free technology for teachers: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/
2. WebEnglishTeacher: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/
3. Folger Shakespeare Library: http://www.folger.edu/
   

Ed Tech Workshop Harvard 2011

Summer is the usual time for most of my traveling. This year I'll be visiting Cambridge and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I had to forgo a trip to Destin because of ankle surgery as a result of ongoing problems stemming from an injury in February.

I'm on this trip for professional development, funded by the stipend I receive because I hold a chair at my school. July--It's hot here in Cambridge, but cool in Robinson Hall where I'm attending Teaching English with Technology led by Tom Daccord and Carla Beard. In three days (we're currently on day 2), I will no doubt learn so much that my head may feel as though it will burst! I've been anticipating this experience for months, and so far Tom and Carla have definitely not disappointed me.

Where to start? Although I see myself as reasonably tech-savvy armed with my laptop, iPad, and iPhone, I really want to incorporate more technology in my teaching. Doing so will take some re-thinking on my part and definitely some revision of my syllabus for each class, but I need to energize my curriculum. In addition, I plan to share the knowledge I gain here with my colleagues when school begins again in August. That's assuming, of course, that I can recall enough detail and process to share!

Already I'm excited about using wikis and blogging. I'm thinking about ways to use these tools with my senior students in particular. I've also collected a variety of helpful websites and other resources that are enough to make my head spin!

What has been especially helpful is the time allotted to practice techniques that I would either otherwise forget or possibly never even attempt. So I've added to a wiki that I started four years ago and abandoned, including media, documents, an entire book, a map, and links. Now I'm updating this blog, which I had kind of forgotten about, and I have the challenge to integrate media and other options in this kind of etext as well.