EDUCATION NOTES
Learning in a technological world
GINNY SHAW

Our children were born into a quite different world than the one you and I grew up in. Today's computer game technology, interactive TV and iPods give teachers a tough act to follow. These children expect color, sound, movement and, most of all, an immediate response! I can tell you from experience that keeping a carpet full of 4-year-olds on task can be a real challenge!

I came to Texas from the UK in 2003. My husband, Harry, had been invited to Port Aransas as guest of the VFW back in 1984. He fell in love with the town and lived here for a year between 1994 and 1995. After we married and lived in England for six years, we decided that we wanted to raise our new baby daughter as an American, and he immediately suggested Port Aransas as our new home. After almost a year of working as a mentor for the Head Start program in Corpus Christi, I joined the staff of Olsen Elementary as prekindergarten teacher. I had previously been teaching the same age group in a tiny village school in the southwest of England. My classroom was a converted barn, which had French doors opening out to an apple orchard. It really was an idyllic setting.

This summer, I went back to England and visited my old school and my former students. Part of my job at that school had been to manage the information technology (IT) program -- both teaching IT skills and using IT to teach subject knowledge across the elementary age range. In that capacity, I was fortunate enough to have been involved in some of the early testing of Interactive Whiteboardsunfortunately I emigrated before I got the opportunity to use one in my own classroom. Every classroom now has an interactive whiteboard.

New age learning A pre-kindergarten student works with an Interactive Whiteboard H.G. Olsen Elementary School teacher Ginny Shaw's class.

I really believe in being a dynamic teacher, I never sit still -- my husband would say I am a workaholic, but in truth, I am just doing what I love. I like to change things up every year, constantly trying to improve what we offer the kids as well as to keep my teaching fresh. I would get bored if I did the same thing every year. I pick out and repeat the best bits, and constantly search for new ideas to inspire my students. Last year, I introduced Letterland very successfully as a means of teaching phonics, and I saw that a smartboard could open the door to a whole new approach to learning. So, on my return to Texas this summer, I made the move to make my

the program's use in American schools. We were rewarded with a complimentary copy of her new Letterland software that is designed for use on an interactive whiteboard, and completely brings the program to life. Every Letterland lesson now involves traveling to Letterland via our big screen to meet the Letterland characters through music, animation and games. The children are able to share the pen and become personally involved in the lesson. Animations and songs show the children how to own classroom here "A Smart Classroom". I managed to find a 40-inch board for a reasonable price, and this, together with my laptop and a data projector we had already purchased for the classroom, has combined to bring a completely new dimension to our learning.

For those of you unfamiliar with "smartboards", I will try to explain. The board itself looks very much like an ordinary whiteboard that hangs on the wall. The data projector sends an image of my laptop screen to the board. The image is bright and clear, and we don't need to lower the blinds or turn the lights down to see it. In turn, the board has a Bluetooth connection back to the laptop, which allows the computer to interpret taps on the whiteboard from a handheld "pen" as mouse clicks.

One of the first tasks we learn in pre-K is to recognize and write our names. When the children arrive at school, they use the interactive pen to tap on their name on a display on the wall. The tap opens a screen with their photo (which immediately checks their success with name recognition); there they practice writing their names, and I can digitally save a copy to keep a record of their progress.

I always use a lot of music in my classroom - children learn so much from songs, and music helps them to find their routines. This year our songs have a video backdrop. One day last week, we sang "Make a Funny Face", and the children were able to watch a slideshow of their own "funny faces" as they sang. Later, we sang a counting song where we hold up our fingers for each number; as we held our fingers up, the numeral displayed on the screen behind me. It literally gives me another pair of hands and saves me from being surrounded by flashcards as we learn!

Last year, I worked with Lynn Wendon, the British author of the Letterland program to help evaluate

form the letters correctly and learn the sound that they make. Later in the day, we can count on the big screen; I can demonstrate one-to-one correspondence by actually moving objects on the big screen. They can make patterns, manipulate shapes and construct graphs by tapping the board. When we read a book, we can quickly link to a picture of the author and illustrator, which makes this a more personal experience for the children.

This week we have been reading the "Quilt Story" by Tony Johnston and Tomie de Paola. I showed the children pictures of a variety of quilts before we set out to make our own paper quilt to display on the wall. Of course, there is no substitute for the real thing, and we looked at a quilt I started, but never finished making, for my daughter when she was born. Pre-k is still a multi-sensory experience!

As a school district, we also subscribe to an Internet service called powermediaplus, which provides a vast collection of audio and video materials at the click of a mouse. At the moment, I am showing the children a two or three-minute clip each day as part of our character education program. On Fridays, we watch a longer video -- usually an animated version of a classic children's story. We have also made a short video in class using a digital camera and watched it on the whiteboard, and have learned about e-mail by sending messages to the principal and receiving a reply!

New technology is shaping the future of our classrooms, enriching children's learning in ways that we are only just beginning to realize. I am excited about developing activities to use on the board and to continue to seek out and embrace new technology in my classroom.

Ginny Shaw is a pre-kindergarten teacher at H.G. Olsen Elementary School.