Pedagogy before Technology
Technology has been a godsend in the classroom, and I have
observed this firsthand with our district becoming 1-1. With the assistance of
so many available technological tools, we as teachers can have more
personalized learning throughout the school day. It allows us to differentiate
small groups, methods in which we explore and explain a topic, ways to have
virtual tours and so much more. Technology is endless and it’s an ever-growing
and changing tool.
It is funny to
compare the technology I grew up with to what the children of today have
available to them. I experienced the wait time for an internet connection and
being kicked off if my home received a phone call. It was just a fun extra “game”
in essence for me. Yet, students today think of technology as a part of
everyday life and that is a life essential. Their day revolves around
technology in multiple forms from talking on the phone, watching videos, or
checking out social media to school activities and much more. I can say that without
differences it has been a fun learning experience for us all.
Understanding that my students see technology as a lifeline,
I see what programs I should integrate into our lessons so that the students
are engaged and learning. I also find using technology for students who have
learning disabilities and/or other health impairments has been very beneficial.
Students having been able to use text-to-speech or speech-to-text has opened
the door for many learning disabilities. I have also used technology with
students who have ADHD and/or behavioral conditions to help when they are
having a blowout or just need a break. They are playing games often, but they
are playing academic games. Now that my district is 1-to-1 we have even more
amazing opportunities when it comes to station work and research opportunities.
When thinking about technology's impact on education I
think that if teachers and students are trained properly and monitored it can
open the door to many wonderful experiences and growth in our student's
learning. As I mentioned I think that teachers need to be trained properly on
all programs available and I think that my district and most that I have heard
of are only partially doing a great job at this. Often teachers are just given
the technology and it’s a figure-it-out-yourself lesson. We do have people who
come in twice a week and help if needed but often it's at times that doesn’t work
out so I think that if anything training needs to improve for all. Lastly, the
students need to be monitored because with today's world and what is available online,
we must always monitor that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing,
etc. I find even with district safety programs the students still find ways to
get on inappropriate sites. In our district, we use different classroom apps
that allow us to watch all our student's screens at once on our iPad which
helps with monitoring when we are teaching small groups. It allows us to freeze
a student's IPAD or Chromebook and block certain activities. I still think technology
is an amazing tool to use in your classroom and I just advise starting slowly with
what you are using. Learn and master one program before going into another.
References
Churches,
A. (2008, May 26). Bloom’s digital taxonomy – online. Bloom’s Digital
Taxonomy. http://www.ccconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Churches_2008_DigitalBloomsTaxonomyGuide.pdf
Nief,
R., McBride, T., Westerberg, C., Shaffer, M., & Zurhellen, T. (2019, August
21). The first Marist Mindset List is released. Marist College. https://www.marist.edu/w/marist-news-the-first-marist-mindset-list-is-released
Schrock,
K. (2011, March 5). Bloomin’ apps. Kathy Schrock’s Guide to
Everything. https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html
Tools
and resources to drive your technology initiatives. K-12 Blueprint.
(n.d.). https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits
