On Becoming Tech Savvy

A red light flashes inside a little box that is mounted above the whiteboard in my classroom—the wireless internet signal is down again.

The custodians changed the windows over the summer, ripped out all the wiring and damaged the sensors that control the weather monitoring station.

The cord to plug in the laptop is missing. The projector that connects to the laptop that allows the interactive Smart board lesson to launch was stolen.

The theft happened on the night of a Yankees World Series game so I suspect some jerk decided that watching sports on a big screen in his living room was more important than my middle school students. Now I am so paranoid that I even lock up the computer speakers and extension cords. It is no telling what might grow legs and walk out of this building.

I was a fine teacher before all these new finagled things came out, and one thing is for sure- I can rely on simple, easy and efficient time tested, technology-free methods to improve student achievement.

I really do want to extend and enhance best teaching practices with all these neat tools, but are they needed and necessary? The answer is no, and neither are the headaches. Plan B is now Plan A. I have some rubber bands and sand in the supply cabinet to model earthquake faults, an overhead projector for visual displays and good ol’ pen & paper. I am certain students will be engaged and eager to learn what I hope to teach them, with or without youtube, skype, real-time data and virtual fieldtrips.

Guess what now? The printer ink is out and it is going to take at least a week before the order will arrive at the school. There is no paper left in the school to make copies. Basics. Unavailable. Really? I wonder what it is going to be like after budget cuts?? Ugh.

The computers in the faculty lounge have not been maintained, or for that matter, even hooked up. The student computer lab door is locked and rarely available for use.

People keep telling me about a volt in the basement that is full of locked up resources. I am hopeful that a new projector, a cord, some wire, ink and paper will find there way back to my classroom some time soon.

In the meantime, I am becoming tech savvy. My plan is to use technology to eliminate the annoying, tedious teacher tasks that nearly drove me away from the profession in the first place. I will NEVER grade student work again. The computer will. Now this is a technology plan that will result in 100% teacher buy-in.