Back to school

So prac has officially started..wow it seems so early in the semester to be saying that!

I had my first day and I know after one day that I really feel like I have chosen the right profession, I left school today in such a happy mood and absolutely loved being in the classroom and it was only day one!!

I'll give you a bit of background about my school and class. I am in a school in the inner west and it is quiet a small school which is nice. I have a Year 1/2 composite class which I am slightly apprehensive and excited about being composite. The class has 25 kids 7 girls and 18 boys (the 18 boys are slightly overwhelming but I think the boys are going to grow on me).  My supervising teacher is really fantastic and I feel like I have learnt so much for her already and it is only the first day!

When I walked into the classroom the first thing I looked for was the Interactive white board and yes, there it was sitting beautifully at the front of the classroom. I said to my teacher “I am really excited to try some of my lessons on your IWB, I’m a bit scared to use it but would love to try” to which she replied back “Yes it is great, but I don’t like using it much, I think I’m too old for this technology, the kids know more than me”. This comment really made me think about age and technology and brought me back to one of the first readings about digital natives and digital immigrants which I re read. One of the quotes from Prensky (2001) really got me thinking. “Our digital immigrant instructors, who speak outdated language (that of the pre-digital age) are struggling to teach a population that speak an entirely new language.” I thought could this be true and was this what I was going to see in my classroom?

I completely understand the anxiety teachers can face with using new technology in the classroom, where the students will more than likely be teaching them how to use it! I am really looking forward to working with my prac class and my teacher and know I can overcome my own fear of new technology too!

References:

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon. 9(5).