http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2017/02/updates-chromebooks-and-google-classroom-make-it-easier-optimize-learning
Technology has seen a huge investment from the education sector recently bringing dreams of helping student achievement and closing the achievement between various groups of students. BUT is the technology that is available at your school being used what it is best suited to accomplish? Am I using a putter on the driving range?
I know every school district has a different amount of access and different tools available including iPads, Chromebooks, tablets, desktops, and even student personal devices. All of these pieces of technology are better at doing certain things than others. It is significantly easier to create research reports on a Chromebook compared to an iPad.
iPads are great at taking pictures and videos. Then using an app to share what was create. It is streamline for that. Often times the students are more tech savvy with the technology than we are.
When considering technology use in the classroom, we need to think about what are our students strengths and what are comfortabiliry level is in letting students create with the technology.
Joe Marquez is a great example of how to allow students to use technology for what it was intended. Educators need to have an open mindset when trying to implement lesson that utilize technology as “learning tools” and not “distractions.” We need to embrace what is possible with the technology.
For too long teaching has focused on the worksheet, textbook, and one size fits all education. We need to innovate with the technology that we have available. One person that is a huge proponent of this change in mindset is George Couros. We need to do better for our students. How can students use their talents to meet the appropriate standards? What is the technology that we have available I. Our classrooms best suited for?
I can use my putter on the driving range, but it isn’t the best use for it. We can look at the world outside the walls of our school to the media. Journalism thirty years ago relied on newspapers. There has been a huge shift in how newspapers have to interact with it’s readership. The newspapers need to have online content and this content needs multimedia content. However, stories that journalists investigate still should follow the same ethics,use great questions to investigate, and integrity that the media did thirty years ago, but the delivery to the populace is markedly different.
Our students are growing up in this world of instant access. Let’s be their ethical and moral compass to navigate the use of technology and embrace the opportunity for innovation.
dreaming big... 