Off and Running

In my very first e-mail to you I equated our journey in Classrooms for the Future to running track. We may have been a bit slow out of the starting blocks but we are now steadily moving forward. As your coach, I feel the need to stand up on my soap box for just a few moments.

Our equipment has arrived and set up is underway. Glitches are being ironed out and training and formal professional development are about to start. It is time that we begin to reflect on how we are going to use this equipment. However, I want to remind you that CFF's focus is not just about equipment but about teaching.

Who are they?

We have all looked around our classrooms and have seen them. Some were hiding in the corner. Others more to the center. Every class that I have ever taught has them. Some classes have more than others. They may or may not have openly given us grief. They are the non-engaged students.

Like you, I have tried different methods to draw them into the lesson. Sometimes I was successful, sometimes not. CFF goal is to engage more students in each and every lesson. The integration of technology can help us to do this.

It has been said that students today have short attention spans. I would agree that students today have shorter attention spans for traditional instruction methods. But some of those same students will spend hour upon hour using a variety of higher level thinking strategies to beat the "bad guy" in a video game. Isn't it interesting that that same student who plays hours of video games, IM their friends, or perfects their My Space page is the same one who doesn't have their work completed for class or seems to be spending time in their own little world instead of our classroom. We need to look at tapping into the digital interest of our students to reach and engage more of them. That is where our Classrooms for the Future equipment can help. Stepping off my soap box for now.