Technology

Does the word gamification make you cringe? That’s okay. I get it. It sounds like an annoying made-up word. Like selfie or asap.

“Who are we videoconferencing with today, Mrs. Cassell?” These are the first words I hear as my students enter the room. I have been a full-time elementary teacher with the Avon Maitland District School Board for the past nine years, teaching students in the primary and intermediate grades.

“Can I tweet this?” is a question that I routinely hear in my grade 2/3 classroom at Eastwood Public School in Windsor, Ontario. My students interact online with over 160 other classrooms around the world through Twitter.

Get out much? of the math textbook, I mean. I know that until recently, I didn’t!

My daughters were supposed to be doing their homework, but I heard too much giggling not to be suspicious. Homework is not supposed to be giggly. Then, from down the hallway, I heard snippets of the following conversation: “I used fences for teeth.

You know you are doing something right when your students beat you into the classroom! Our Thursday night literacy classes at the Oshawa YWCA are eagerly anticipated by the women who arrive early, and greet us with a pot of fresh coffee and completed homework, proudly displayed.

You knew this day might eventually come. SMART Boards have infiltrated classrooms across the province. They used to be as rare as the reclusive puma. But now they are as common as the raccoon. And frankly, you might be happier to see a wild racoon in your classroom.

While the Internet is now the number one information source for both children and adults, research is showing that online reading differs significantly from print-based reading. In fact, learning how to obtain sound, relevant information from online sources requires specific kinds of practice and experience, and there is little evidence that schools are currently providing this experience.

It’s a new age for children with Autism. Everything is changing, for the better.