High-Tech versus Low-Tech

Hi!

I lost my phone for about three hours. Go ahead and laugh a little at my expense. It's amusing now. 

Photo Source -- APPAdvice

Why am I writing about this on my second grade teacher blog? I'll tell you. It is because I was forced to do some things the old school way during my abrupt disconnect from the world. Mind you, I knew my phone was in one of two places, and after searching my bag, I knew which place it wasn't! 

In true teacher mindset, I made a connection. How many times have you had the niftiest tech-rich lesson planned, only to have the tech go haywire at the worst moment? Did you tap dance? If so, your mom will be proud that all that money for dance lessons has finally gone to good use. However, my gut tells me that you went with a low-tech alternative, like, say, paper and pencil. 

I have never tap danced when high-tech decided to take five, but I did do some faux calm talking when my principal, of a few years ago, came into the room as my students were using Votes "eggs" to answer polling type questions linked to my ACTIVboard. I had done my homework the day before. I knew how to do it, and I felt comfortable with it. Yet, high-tech failed when I added the magic of second graders and one tech-savvy principal. Thankfully, low-tech saved the day, and helped me make a point to my students that sometimes, all we need is our brain,  and maybe some pencils and paper to get the job done.

Back to the phone...

I wasn't in a panic about not having it, but I can tell you that I lost count of the times that I reached for it to: 

• Check Facebook
• Check Twitter (Follow Me @Grade2baloo
• Check Instagram (Follow me! @grade2hullabaloo)
• Check TPT (Follow me -- Grade 2 Hullabaloo)
• Google the bestsellers list
• Check the time
• Call my mother (I know, this one should be at the top of the list)
• Crunch some budget numbers
• Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!

I actually had some low-tech tools with me -- a spiral and a Flair pen. So, I made notes of things that popped into my head. Go pick up that item that I ordered a month ago. Make a shopping list. Write down a great TPT idea. Reflect on that great vacation to Mexico, even though it would have been nice to reflect while looking at the pictures, such as the one below, ON MY PHONE. 

Beautiful Spanish style church in Valladolid, Mexico

But, do you know what? I survived. There was a surprising amount of peace in knowing that I didn't have it (and that I knew where it was). It was as if I were on a semi-deserted island, and partially unplugged from the world with my murder mystery and the nearby splashes of children in the pool. Children I wasn't responsible for in any way. I was invisible. And it was serene.

Now that I have been reunited with my phone and laptop, and you're totally plugged in, you might want to check out my latest TPT updated product called Skip Counting Task Cards. It's perfect for your second grade math stations. It could work for RTI group lessons, high achieving firsties or thirds who need a little refresher on skip counting. 

I especially love the "Give me Five" foldables that can be glued into students' math notebooks. There are pretests, posttests, task cards and more. It's free for the next 24-ish hours. So, grab a copy and leave some feedback in my FEEDBACK CHALLENGE! Do it quickly! You never know when your technology will go kaput. Then, you'll have to write a letter to me.  :-)

Have a great Thursday!