Happy Monday! It’s
hard to believe that summer is almost over. I’m looking forward to starting the
school year and incorporating new technology tools in my classroom.
There are a lot of advantages
to using technology in schools, but there are also valid concerns. Only you can
decide if technology is right for your students. I’ve some pros for and cons against
integrating technology.
Pros
- Students are engaged in lessons.
- Prepares our students to be digitally literate.
- Supports educators as they plan differentiation strategies and incorporate the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their lessons and units.
- Aligns with Bloom’s revised taxonomy.
- Allows educators to share student work with parents.
- Encourages communication and collaboration between educators around the world.
Cons
- Possible negative effects on students’ attention.
- Teachers must be trained to learn new skills.
- Teachers must be supported throughout the year as they integrate new tools.
- Sometimes technology doesn’t work, what happens then?
- Funding
One concern with
technology is the possible negative effects it can have on students’ attention.
Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain,
discusses how the internet affects us, our work and learning. According to Carr
and Epiphio (2013), constantly using technology leads to perpetual distraction which
blocks the learning process. As educators, we certainly do not want our
students in a constant state of distraction. To prevent this, we must teach our
students to meaningfully use technology. We must be mindful of how we
incorporate technology in our schools. To ensure that technology is
purposefully used, I suggest that teachers first plan units and lessons and
then think of ways to incorporate technology tools into their plans. But what
if teachers are not familiar with technology and they don’t know what tools or
resources would be best for their classroom?
Schools and
districts should offer training and support related to technology. Teachers
must be comfortable with and have a thorough understanding of technology in order
to implement effectively. Schools could use webinars and other online platforms
to tailor to teachers’ interests. Additionally, it’s important that teachers
are continually supported as they learn to use new technologies. I recommend that
teachers connect with educators around the world through websites and blogs
like Edutopia, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I’ve recently started using
Twitter to engage in chats with other educators. These chats have helped to
strengthen my professional skills and build my Personal Learner’s Network or
PLN (discussed below). In one Twitter chat, I learned about using mobile device
apps like Edmodo or Seasaw, to create digital student portfolios. These apps can
be used by teachers and students to document and share student learning with
families. This year, I will use Edmodo to encourage students to design, produce,
and share multiple representations of their learning. Through this on-going
project, students will engage in all tiers of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Armstrong,
n.d.). Before students post their work, they will use Google Docs to write
drafts and seek peer and teacher revision. Google Docs will allow me to review
student work and offer support as needed. All student work must be reviewed by
me before it allowed to be posted on Edmodo. This project supports students’
academic development in all subject areas, along with creative thinking,
problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Marc Prensky (2013) contends that
technology in education “enable students to do powerful new things that they couldn’t do before.”
This might sound
great so far, and I hope any skeptics are more inclined to use technology. So
what should be done if schools don’t have funding to get mobile devices for
their classrooms? Ideally, I think it would be great if every classroom had 1:1
access to mobile devices. Do not fear if this is not a reality for your
classroom! One solution is to work with your administration to instate a
Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy. This is a cost-effective strategy for one
to one learning according to the NMC Horizons Report (n.d.). I have 5 iPads in
my classroom, which I once saw as a challenge. Students share the iPads during learning
centers and are able to choose a learning activity that is best suitable for
their needs. This supports differentiation and the Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) in the classroom. Students are in control of their learning and
are more engaged as a result.
Technology is used
in many parts of our life; we use it to communicate, work and live. Students
must be digitally literate to be successful members of our competitive, global society.
Prensky (2013) asserts that students must learn to control technology so that it
does exactly what they want. I believe that to do this effectively, technology
should be in all K-12 classrooms. Technology integration has the potential to
put students in the driver’s seat of their learning with their teachers as
their co-pilots.
I’ve always
considered myself to be fairly tech-savvy but I was initially nervous about
adding technology to my classroom. There were certainly some bumps along the
road but before too long, using technology with my first graders felt like
second nature. At first, I felt most comfortable adding one or two tools at a
time. This might be a helpful way to start if you’re hesitant to incorporate
technology in your classroom. I also think it is important to have a strong
support system when learning new technology. My colleagues and my PLN have both
helped me to push myself out of my comfort zone.
I hope you enjoyed
reading my post about technology in the classroom. Feel free to check out my
references below to read more about technology in education. Whether you agree
or disagree with me, I would love to hear from you and your thoughts about
technology in the comments.
References
- Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved April 13, 2017, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/
- Epiphio. (2013, May 6). What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI
- Prensky, M (2013). http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/Our-Brains-Extended.aspx
- NMC Horizon Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.nmc.org/publications/2013-horizon-report-k12
