Teachology planning team for our first event-- Fall of 2014
First, we should tell you who we are not: We are not computer scientists, educational technology experts, or website developers. In fact, we're not even teachers yet.
However, we are a group of ambitious, motivated, pre-service teachers who all agree on one thing...that technology in the classroom is important. As educators, we know that each student learns differently, and in order to reach all of these styles, we need to utilize the different tools that are out there. Plus, technology is everywhere today. Students have access to it via the internet, tablets, mobile devices...plain and simple, kids today are using technology almost every day. So why not in the classroom as well?
But, we all have heard (or been a part of) the horror stories that come with students and technology: "So there I was, with 20 pairs of eyes staring at me questioningly, and my Youtube video on metaphors was playing with no audio...", "A class website seemed like a good idea, until my students used their internet time to check Facebook, rather than write their blog post...", and on, and on, and on. Because of moments like these, teachers often shy away from using different tools and technology in their curriculum. Let's be honest...technology can be unpredictable, difficult to decipher, and scary to use if you have no background in it.
Raise your hand if you've felt this way (surprise--we're raising our hands too). Being a pre-service teacher is challenging enough, and then on top of this we're supposed to be up-to-date on the latest educational technology too? "But I've never even made a seating chart...". Because of this, our team thought it was time we do something. Where can pre-service teachers get simple, useful, and applicable training that will prepare us for using technology in our future classrooms? After a bit of searching around, we came up with an answer: we'll design it ourselves!
And thus, Teachology was born. We have worked hard to create a valuable experience for all participants, and are excited to share what we've learned with all of you.