Image Credit: Components of a 21st Century Classroom by Open Colleges http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/infographic/21st_century_classroom.html |
Ed tech isn't going away and I'm finding more and more classrooms now have resources such as interactive whiteboards, laptops, tablets, etc readily available to them at any time. Teacher's, however, can't get away with using these resources as a novelty to engage students anymore. Most students have access to these types of technology at home or in their pocket; it isn't enough to simply incorporate them for the engagement factor! Here are some questions we can ask ourselves when using different tech applications in the classroom:
- How is the learning experience different by using this technology?
- What NEW opportunity is this technology providing?
- What is the specific purpose of implementing this technology instead of
using other resources?
- Is this technology making this learning experience better for my student(s)?
I strongly encourage you to look back at lessons you have done with your students and critique your use of technology. Was it purposeful? I will admit that I am very guilty of using the SMART Board simply to display PowerPoints but I am also proud of how my students have utilized YouTube to create a video and share it with the world. Clarence mentioned some really awesome projects he was undertaking with his students which included digital design, 3D printing, computer coding and and robotics. Now these are definitely activities that are purposefully designed to utilize technology in an appropriate manner so that students are provided with a learning experience that they simply could not get through pen and paper alone!
I want to thank Clarence for using his prep time to Skype in with our class and remind us how to use technology appropriately. There are so many exciting things we can now do in our classrooms and it can be easy to get distracted by the novelty of the resource but always plan with purpose and curricular outcomes in mind.
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Here is a link to a post Clarence wrote as a reaction to an article about a district in the United States that is purchasing 25,000 iPads for students. I think Clarence's reaction does a great job of questioning the purpose behind this purchase and pointing out some very obvious holes in their plan.
Here is a link to a post Clarence created which shares photos of his classroom. You can see the different ed tech resources he has available, including the flat screen TV displaying student work. I LOVE the different types of learning spaces in his room, I think it is organized wonderfully and allows each student to have a space that meets their needs.
I would love to be a student in Clarence's class. Imagine how engaged his students are. I know I used technology just to use it, in my first placement. The more I am in the classroom, the more I want, and need, to use technology purposefully. Thanks for the links.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Lisa!
DeleteKirsten, great post and I also love your blog! It looks like a lot of educators (old and new) use it to connect and use it as a resource! You make some great points on making sure when we use technology that it has to be purposeful. With not a lot of experience with using technology in the classroom, I feel like I'm more prepared at approaching it now.
ReplyDeleteHi Jocelyn, thanks for visiting my blog and your kind words :) Sometimes it can be easy to get excited about certain tech tools and forget about why we are using them. I'm glad to see you are feeling more prepared now :)
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