Article found at: http://www.questia.com/library/1P3-343001451/integrating-technology-into-the-montessori-elementary
Integrating Technology into the Montessori Elementary Classroom
Article excerpt
NEW IDEAS
A third-year student in the early elementary, one of the first to
arrive this chilly Tuesday morning, comes quietly into her classroom at
the Montessori School of Denver. She's used to the routine: she hangs up
her coat and backpack, puts her lunch in the refrigerator, takes her
clipboard and pencil out of her cubby, then makes her way over to
retrieve her work record to see what she has on her "to-do" list today.
The work records are on a table, neatly arranged by year. The work
record itself is a piece of paper on which a table of subjects is
printed, headed under the days of the week, created in Microsoft Excel.
The child's name has been automatically printed onto the work record
using a database. Her specials for the week, including Spanish, Music,
Art, PE, and a typing tutorial program are also automatically inserted
under the correct day from a database. Highlights, placed by the
teachers, show that she needs to complete her "Geography/History" from
yesterday. The child also notes that her request to have math
highlighted was gladly honored; she has wanted to work with the
checkerboard to improve her skills. The highlights serve as an
organizational tool for the teachers and students during individual
worktime. There is room for choice within the subjects, but the
highlights help to direct children to areas in which they need to focus.
The day before, her teachers had carefully noted on their forms which
lessons or projects she had completed. She has been working on creating
a new card for the classroom's "Famous Places" card set. Yesterday, she
completed her research of Mesa Verde using the encyclopedias in the
classroom and from an Internet search on Yahooligans, a children's
search engine that finds age-appropriate, validated websites. Today, she
will begin typing her research, being careful to format the font and
size so that it looks like the rest of the cards in the set. Perhaps
today, she also will have time to search the National Geographic
collection in the room for a good picture of Mesa Verde. If she doesn't
find one there, she knows that her teacher can have a picture scanned
from the many books in the classroom. Another option will be to find a
picture online. She feels comfortable downloading a picture into her
Word document and resizing it to the 4-x-6" size needed.
In order to begin, she first goes to the computer where she saved her
work yesterday in a folder with her name as a title. This particular
computer, one of five in the classroom, has a small, yellow square taped
to the front of it. Corresponding to the square is a yellow sign-up
sheet on the table. She writes her name on the sheet, then begins. Other
students who are interested in working on this computer come up quietly
as the morning progresses and place their names on the bottom of the
list.
Some need to use the typing tutor. Others need to use the Internet
for research. Some children need to type a story or poem. Still others
are interested in the math software that has been installed on this
computer for the week. One child signs up in order to type his spelling
words for practice.
By the time her teacher rings the small bell for morning meeting, the
child has nearly completed her typing. Having worked with a typing
tutor program for 3 years, she is now able to type around 10 words per
minute with accuracy. She is excited to be nearly finished with this
project. Once the final card is ready, her teacher will have it
laminated, then will place it with the other cards in the set. Children
test each other on facts from the Famous Places Cards and are often
inspired to create their own.
Before the day begins, her teacher has two quick mini-lessons to show
the class. In conjunction with their study of Africa, she has found two
websites from PBS that will further their understanding of the
continent.
One website allows the students to explore the inside of a pyramid. …
Response: I found this very interesting. At my charter school we are very limited on technology. Each classroom has one tablet. We have been talking with administration and our organization to consider to get more technology in the classrooms. As a traditional trained teacher I feel that their are many benefits to technology and this article solidified that it is possible to incorporate technology into a Montessori classroom. Maria Montessori said “What purpose would education serve in our days unless it helped humans
to a knowledge of the environment to which they have to adapt
themselves? Maria Montessori saw children as global citizens who need to learn
real-world concepts, and in a Montessori classroom, children are
actively engaged in real-world learning. Technology has the potential to
play an important role in this dynamic approach when computers are used
as a tool to reinforce skills – to be relatable to the life skills
children are developing. Students could use these tools to enhance research and presentation, and to
reinforce skills learned within the classroom. At the elementary level,
students could learn to create PowerPoint presentations and videos to support
the communication of their research. An example at the primary level may
include using the computer to watch an educational video showing how
seeds grow, reinforcing scientific concepts and inspiring the children
on gardening day. I hope our school will elect to bring in more technologgy for next school year.
