Life-Long Learner

I did it! I made my first digital story on Photo Story 3 and uploaded it to blip.tv.

Check out <a href=”“>Timeless.

Have a glorious day.

During my blogging journey on the giant learning curve of technological literacy, I’ve come across a few glitches. Today’s glitch is access to high speed internet in rural Saskatchewan.

Part of the reason that I decided to take the online version of ECMP 355 – Computers in Education through the University of Regina was to experience learning online. This is important to me as a pre-service teacher who may be seeking employment in rural Saskatchewan. I believe that new learning opportunities will be available online for rural students in the future, and it would be best if I understood what they are going through in order to provide as much support as I can.

My glitch comes in the form of unreliable high speed internet access. Due to a number of natural challenges (wind shaking the rotor on the tower attached to the house, objects getting in the way of of site of the tower, etc), the satellite signal is not consistant. As a result, I’ve been calling friends last minute to ask if I could borrow their computer to attend the live classes and praying that when the internet does come up in my home, I will have enough time to get some work done. As a result I am a tad bit frustrated.

Thankfully a Berenstein Bears moment has provided some insight – something good can come from something bad, we just need to find it. So here is my something good – reflection and future planning. If I am frustrated now, how will my students feel when we are incorporating the exciting world of technology in the classroom, but they are unable to access it in their own homes? What am I willing to do as a teacher to support their learning dispite the challenges that they are facing – no computer at home, inconsistent internet connection, other commitments, etc.?

Some of the solutions that I thought of include:
-Allowing the student to use my computer in the classroom outside of class time (ie. breaks, lunch, before/after school, etc.). I could be available to assist when needed, and/or I could use the time for prepping. Would I go as far as to meet in the evenings or on weekends? It would depend on my family commitments, but I like to think that I will be flexible.
- Allow for class time to work on assignments.
- Allow for extended deadlines for assignments.

Based on my own experiences of learning online and talking to some students in rural Saskatchewan, I think technology will open many doors for learning, but as teachers we need to look at the resources of individual students to ensure that they have all the opportunities available to be included in the learning journey.

With that said, I welcome the thoughts and solutions from others for working with and supporting students who may not have access to the technological tools that we incorporate in the classroom.

Have a glorious day.