Back to School

It’s the second half of August, and things are changing. Distinctive yellow buses are on the road. Stores are displaying vast quantities of pencils, notebooks, and folders. And any of your friends that happen to be teachers are vanishing from sight. It doesn’t take a detective to piece the clues together – the back to school season is upon us!

The weeks leading up to a new school year are a bittersweet time for kids and adults alike. Students are excited to see old friends and tackle new challenges, but they mourn the passing of summer days spent playing in the sun. Parents miss having their children around all the time, but appreciate the quiet and freedom. Teachers have no doubt enjoyed their three months of vacation, but are eager to fill the minds of another class with new knowledge.

I remember these days well. The nagging date lurking in the back of my mind, looming larger with each passing hour. How that foreboding became grudging and then all-out excitement as I shopped for new supplies and clothes. The thrill of meeting a new teacher, reuniting with classmates, and flipping through new books (well, maybe not the new books, but you get the point). And before I knew it, it was autumn and the school year was in full swing.

The last weeks of summer vacation are a great way to prepare for the new school year. Try reviewing key concepts from the previous year with worksheets, flash cards, or quick quizzes and games. Get your soon-to-be students excited by taking them shopping for new school supplies and clothes – it’s easy to find great deals and sales right now. Plan a bash to celebrate the last days of summer. Eat summer foods and play summer games outside. Talk about everyone’s favorite summer activities.

A day or two before the first day of school, give your child a piece of paper. Ask them to write a letter to themselves. Explain that they should list some goals for the coming school year – these can be simple, like making a new friend, or more difficult, like getting better grades in math. When they’re finished, take the letter and place it in an envelope and store it. Hand it back to your child a day or two before or after the last day of school. Talk about their goals and how they changed over the course of the year.

How do you, as a parent or teacher, get ready for a new school year? What’s the best thing about back to school time? What’s the worst? When you were a student, how did you prepare yourself? Feel free to share your stories.

More Educational Technology

After blogging about eBooks last week, we thought we’d stay with the thread and discuss other technologies being used by teachers and parents to enhance learning.

The modern classroom can be a very advanced place. There are an incredible number of new technologies being used in schools and homes. Unfortunately, many schools aren’t able to afford these products, but they are slowly spreading. It’s probably safe to assume that in the next several years, many of these innovations will be in widespread use.

These days, it’s hard to find a school or home that doesn’t feature computers. These aren’t new educational tools – they’ve been in use for years. Their possible uses, however, are constantly changing. The Internet hosts an enormous amount of resources for teachers and parents. Worksheets, interactive games, lesson plan ideas – the list goes on. Ideas are shared on public forums (blogs, discussion boards, websites), giving educators access to a growing collection of content. And there’s no end to available software. From encyclopedias to precalculus programs, you can find just about anything you need to boost your classroom resources.

An extremely popular technology is the interactive whiteboard. Taking the place of chalkboards and dry-erase boards, they work with a computer and projector to provide all kinds of fun, educational opportunities. Teachers can develop lessons with programs like Power Point and display them on the whiteboard. There are a number of lesson plans and ideas available online, as well. The boards are completely interactive. Special markers write on the board, allowing a teacher to highlight or expand on a particular note; or a student could work a math problem right on the whiteboard. The boards also respond to touch. It’s amazing how much students love working on these products. Their attention is grabbed easily, and they really enjoy heading up to the board to interact with the lesson. The possibilities of this technology are great, and the library of content continues to grow.

Remote technology is another innovation gathering steam in schools. The idea is that each student has a small remote or device that transmits to another device (like an interactive whiteboard or computer). This has a number of uses and advantages. Students can take multiple choice quizzes and tests, entering their answers via remote. Each remote is mapped to a specific student. Results are instantly tabulated, and can be easily placed in a computerized grade book. Imagine the time a teacher could save without tedious hand-grading! It’s also great for survey questions and class votes, and can be used to introduce charts and graphing activities.

These are only a few of the available technologies. And who knows what’s next? One future educational tool may be the cell phone. Can you imagine using text messaging in the classroom? How do you feel about the growing presence of technology in education? Is it a good or bad thing? What do you think is “the next big thing” for teachers and parents?

The eBook Revolution

I have sometimes wondered what Johannes Gutenberg felt when he held the first book to come off of his printing press. Did he have an inkling that he’d changed the world? Did he glimpse a future in which books were everywhere? Did he realize that he held a piece of history in his hands?

When I consider the revolution of eBooks, I think I might have an idea of how he felt. There’s no question that eBooks are changing things. When we download books and slide through their pages on our e-readers, we are making our own history. eBooks have taken the publishing industry by storm, and they aren’t letting up. Everything and everyone that has anything to do with books is affected – libraries, book stores, and, of course, teachers.

eBooks are revolutionizing the classroom. Novels aren’t the only kind of book out there. Textbooks, workbooks, and children’s books are available, as well. Here are a few reasons to hop on the eBook train.

E is for easy. Okay, it’s actually for electronic, but it may as well stand for easy. Having trouble finding a workbook on a specific topic? All you need is an internet connection and libraries will be at your fingertips. It only takes a few minutes to order an eBook and have it delivered directly to you! No more trips to supply stores and book sellers. And eBooks are usually priced the same as a printed copy, so you don’t have to pay extra for the convenience.

It may seem a minor benefit, but eBooks are a tremendous space-saver. eBooks are stored on your computer, so you don’t need to worry about book shelves or closet space. Your classroom stays neat and organized, and has more free space that can be used to enhance your learning environment. You can also make your classroom a green, environmentally friendly zone by using eBooks.

Technology is changing the modern classroom. eBooks are only a part of that change, but they work together with the others to enhance learning. eBooks are compatible with computers, interactive whiteboards, e-readers, and even cell phones. Pages can be projected on a whiteboard, allowing student and teacher interaction and turning individual exercise into a group activity. Handouts can be printed directly on your home or classroom printer. That means no more waiting in line at the copier! Lessons and assignments can be e-mailed to absent students. Homeschool teachers can provide all the books found in schools with computers and e-readers. The possibilities are seemingly endless, and more are being added all the time!

How do you feel about eBooks? What do you like or dislike about them? How have you used them at home or in the classroom? What do you think technologies like eBooks mean for the future of education?