~Teacher Interview~

Teacher Interview:

I went back to my old elementary school where I interviewed one of the second grade teachers, Mrs. Apple. The first question I decided to ask her was what her feelings were on technology in the classroom. Mrs. Apple explained to me that without the technology in her classroom than many of her assignments would become a lot different. She would basically have to redo much of her morning work routines and lesson plans for subject areas. She also said that it can get frustrating at times, but wouldn’t trade that frustration in for no technology any day. Lastly, she stated that having technology had made some lessons more fun for her and the students. I then continued and asked her what technology she had in the classroom.
Mrs. Apple has several pieces of technology available to her and uses that to her advantage. The second grade teachers have one smart board that they share and trade every week. Although, Mrs. Apple has it most of the time because the other teachers would rather stick to their old ways rather than learn how to transfer their lessons to the smart board. She also has a document camera that she just received last year due to a grant that she made. She loves to use this when teaching out of the textbooks so that she can show the children exactly what page she is on and where on that page as they follow along. The students also have the computers on wheels. They usually work with them at least once or twice a week working on research or small games. The only other piece of technology she informed me about was just the regular computer she uses in the classroom constantly. She uses all of these technologies almost on a daily basis.
Mrs. Apple told me when asked, “What do students learn using technology” that they learn everything! They learn each subject using at least one device and even sometimes when they are doing their independent work they could be using a lap top or looking the directions given on the smart board. She also pointed out that they are learning how to use technology on their own and getting familiar with new technology that they will probably be using in their future careers.
I had many thoughts as she was telling me her answers to the questions I gave. One thing that caught be off guard was when she was telling about how the other teachers didn’t want to use the smart board very much. If I were them I would want it in my classroom all the time! I also was surprised how much technology was available in the classroom. I was expecting a computer for the teacher and that’s about it. Lastly, I loved to hear about how much Mrs. Apple used the technology in her classroom and how she integrated it into her lessons.