Too much

First  of all sorry this blog entry is late.  Wednesday and Thursday of last week, I have been spending time writing curriculum with other teachers from around the province.  This is always an exciting time for me and a great opportunity to exercise the creative muscle in a creative space.  As a bonus it was a time for me to introduce other to the power of google docs.  It was also used as an attempt to use Twitter during curriculum development - it didn't go well, however, it was an attempt.

During this time, a comment was made that her students commented on the fact that there was too much technology being used.  In this school, each student has a chrome book. (mental note: find out more about chrome books - anybody?) As a result, for our culminating activity it is going to be a physical scrapbook for the students to take home.  But it made me wonder about the comment that there was too much technology used.  In addition to this comment, I was talking to someone who had gone on the High Tech High field trip to San Diego.   He noticed that there was a lack of, for example, smartboards.

Both of these things reminds me that there is a place for balance and the need for an awareness of knowledge of your own disposition towards the trends in your class and the habits you have.   When writing this unit it is tempting to write the unit with all the "bells and whistles" of technology.  21st century skills doesn't mean technology soaked curriculum.  How do I approach the balance in my own class?  For the past month my class has created a powerpoint for country projects and typed up poems for a poetry project.  Is that too much?  I think we'll switch gears for the month to come and try a little more balance.