Elmo in the Classroom

I love my Elmo!!! It is so easy to use and now a daily part of my lessons. What I am learning is that I have had apprehensions and fears related to the use of technology. It seems that in the past, my belief was that it would take so much for me learn a new type of software, application, or tool and then try to apply it on a mostly daily basis. The truth is that it may take time to learn the information, but in the long run it makes teaching far more efficient.

While I had some apprehensions about how to arrange the Elmo in the room and seeing how I could shift the classroom to make Elmo more accessible to my desk and computer, I made some decisions. The other teacher in my room had no problems with us locking the visualizer away and replacing it with the Elmo. It has been an easier transition than I thought. Now, I was not able to move my desk and computer closer to Elmo, I just have to use my co-teacher’s cords and move my computer closer to Elmo. It is a small adjustment, but one that is fine with me. I wish I had this last year; then again, I have to wonder would I have used it with the same frequency with which I am using it now? I am using Elmo daily and it seems to be an easier technological tool to use than the visualizer.