Technology used in the classroom so far

My host teacher relies on the use of technology in her teaching daily. Every morning the students walk into the room to hear a song playing from YOUTUBE. After that, the students take notes from the SMARTBORD. Mrs. ______ allows a student to try the SMARTBORD by having them come up and write the date at the top of the lesson. Using the SMARTBORD for notes is interesting because the teacher is able to cover up what the students should not be focusing on yet. (It reminds me of the overhead projectors that we had when I was in school, where the teacher would cover unnecessary information with a sheet of paper.)

Mrs._____ highly believes in teaching the students how to use the technology in the classroom, unfortunately there is not always enough time. I helped students type up their metaphor poems at the computer lab and noticed that none of them had any typing skills. If children are around computers more, and their work was required to be typed they would be able to practice their typing. Typing is a skill that they are going to have to use for the rest of their lives. How are these students going to be able to excel in high school if they don't know how to type?

I remember when I was in school, we actually had computer class, learned typing, and enjoyed it! Mrs. ______ explained that taking the students to the computers to type everything they had to turn in would waste too much time, so she gives them the option of doing it at home. However, not every student has a computer at home. Although she does not punish them for not having work typed I feel as if these students should know the basics of word processing.

Another piece of technology used by teachers is the system to input grades. Mrs. _____ and her school team received a new grading system but have not been shown how to use it. The teachers met and went through a "crash course" on the basics of what each one of them had figured out, but no one knows if the grades are going to be properly posted.