When considering the use of technology tools such as WebQuest in my classroom, particularly for my internship this fall, there are two issues that I will face affecting the use of technology for instruction. For my internship year, I have been placed at Anderson County High School. According to the 2009 TN report card, 48.5% of the ACHS student body is economically disadvantaged. This presents a problem when considering the availability of technology at home for many of the students.
Another issue facing me and my fellow social studies pals, will be the lack of additional funding for our not so important area of study in comparison to the other more important subject areas. ACHS only has five teachers in the SS department, eight in science, and ten in both English and Math. The teachers of these subjects have computers in their classroom along with other tools for instruction. Just this last year, the SS department head, who I observed for my field experience hours, was finally able to buy two computers for his classroom that all five SS teachers will take turns sharing for their classes. He bought these computers with the money made from selling sodas to the students at the beginning of each class period, along with money from the SS teachers.
All of this being said, I would love to use tools such as WebQuest in my classroom, but realistically, do not see it as a usable resource. I do not think I will have access to the tools needed to carry out the activities, nor do I think the students will have the tools outside of the classroom for further collaboration. Both of these factors are disappointing and frustrating because neither of which I can control, and both prevent me from creating fun and exciting lessons using technology.
About Me
- Kristin Trammell
- I am a student at UT about to enter my internship year at Anderson County High school. I have a major in Geography with minors in History and Business. In addition to being a student, for the last four years I have worked at Agri Feed Pet Supply as the aquatics manager. I am extremely passionate about education and hard work. My interests include fishing, hiking, cooking, eating , reading, and movies.
I definitely agree with your feelings on this. Not only did we generally agree that all of this webquesting would eat up lots of time, but think about the additional limitations placed upon us when we have to share computers with other teachers and classrooms...the probability of our using the technology plummets even further.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the teacher you observed sold sodas...I'm surprised no one squawked about him selling "sugary death" to school children...I wish my teachers offered me sodas.