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Hulton, D.©2014. Teaching with Technology Showcase.

The vocation of an educator is one of ongoing and life-long learning.   In order to be the best teacher for my future students, I have made an effort in ongoing professional development opportunities through Brock.  Already this year I have completed workshops in classroom management, mathematics, occasional teaching, Project wild, SMARTboard Training Part I and technology in the classroom.  These professional development days have all offered me the chance to learn and gain experience in many different aspects of the classroom, but they all have taught me one or more things that will be beneficial in my future classroom.

The picture above was taken on January 10 at the Brock Hamilton Campus during the Teaching with Technology Showcase.  Over the course of the day I had the opportunity to take place in three different workshops that sought to show how different forms of technology can be incorporated into the classroom.  The use of technology not only is useful in engaging the 21st Century learner, but is also a great tool for differentiated instruction.  As students today grow up in a world surrounded by different and changing forms of technology we cannot ignore its importance in their lives.

In the first workshop, Xbox in the classroom, we were introduced to ways in which Xbox Kinect can be used to get students physically active in the classroom and how it is a slightly cheaper alternative to SMART technologies. I found the activities to be fun and engaging and in some cases the games are educational and would be effective for the use in a primary classroom.

The second workshop, iPad the interactive whiteboard killer, showed how the iPad is becoming a remarkable tool and in some ways could replace the need for SMARTboards.  This is impressive already that some people are advocating the removal of SMARTboards that have been revolutionary in the classrooms.  Using the iPads allows for all students to interact at once, however, due to Internet connections and price it is still a slight pilot project.

The final workshop was Microsoft in the classroom and during this we all had the opportunity to try the new Microsoft Surface tablets, and the instructor took us through a variety of tools useful in the classroom.  Although I found somethings interesting, I found the tablet slightly hard to use and frustrating.  Perhaps this is my Mac bias, however I still feel the iPad to be a better tool for educational purposes.