My eLearning Journey - Harvard Edition

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go with 4 of our students to the Harvard Speech and Debate tournament. Since I only had one event to judge on Saturday, I had a lot of time on my hands to observe what people were doing with their spare time.

The most fascinating thing to me was that I had never seen so many laptops in one place before (other than Best Buy). Everywhere I looked there was a teenager working on a computer doing research, working on an assignment, doing a project, etc. etc. It was really quite amazing to watch.
(Side observation - even with all the kids who had laptops...out of the hundreds of adults I observed in the same place...I saw only 17 adults with laptops)

So it got me thinking…here’s a perfect environment for elearning opportunities. As a teacher, if I know that a student is going to be out – for whatever reason – I can provide them with online materials and resources so that they don’t end up falling behind in their classwork. Or, even more exciting, I could provide enrichment activities or work for those students who either have a high level of interest in the subject or just want to learn more.

As I think about the different ways that I can incorporate technology in my classroom, I definitely believe that providing students with an online resource whether it be video lessons, tutorials, drill and practice, anchoring or enrichment activities, opens up a whole world out there.

Surprisingly, even as a computer teacher, I’ve been hesitant to make the leap from traditional teaching methods to a combination of blended methods. I think that a lot of that has to do with my inability to let go of my ideas that drill and practice is so important. I’ve always believed that the ability to apply a concept in real-world scenarios is important, but you can’t do that until you learn the material first. This is why I am thrilled that I’ve discovered that drill and practice has a place in elearning.

Ultimately, the point of my ramble here is that technology is definitely here to stay. In some cases, it has become such a part of our lives that we can't even remember a time when we didn't have it. (Funny side story...the other teacher that was at Harvard with me didn't have a cell phone...me and the three girls spent 4 hours trying to get into his head to try to figure out where he might have gone (in the entire city of Cambridge, MA) so that we could find him to head home...what did we ever do before cell phones ? ) As the upcoming generations embrace it and it becomes so integrated into our daily lives, I too need to embrace it and harness the potential that it carries. (again...going back to my earlier observation that hardly any of the adults had laptops with them and those that did were definitely under 35) As I’ve often said, I refuse to use technology just for the sake of it. I believe that it has a place and the more that I learn in this class, I am discovering where that place is and my role in making sure that it is used correctly and in the most useful way possible.