Technology
Technology
Technology has the potential to bring about a revolutionary change in education and I feel it’s important that we challenge ourselves to integrate it into our teaching and learning in a way that can bring about that change.
As a technology minded educator, I constantly strive to take a leadership role amongst the staff and take on the role of a “Technology Coach.” From leading professional development and all staff in-services, to setting up frequent meetings with teachers on how they can better use the technology available, I push myself to help increase the digital literacy of the people around me. I have a Masters in Educational Technology from Michigan State University, where I have gained the knowledge, skills and leadership in integrating technology into schools. I see technology not as the solution to our problems, but as a powerful tool to help prepare our children for the future.
Differentiation
Technology has afforded us the power to more easily differentiate learning for our students. Here we’re working on a project in collaboration with another class, where each group is presented a challenge that not only matches their needs, but aligns them with other groups that are similar.
Individual Pacing
Another powerful affordance of teaching with technology is the ability to better control pacing of learning. From being able to seamlessly continue learning at home by using an LMS/CMS, to allowing for a quick individualized environments that challenge what the students know, not how quickly that can perform.
Anyone at Anytime
From Blogs, Wiki’s, Email, Google Hangouts and LMS/CMS tools, we can keep in contact with anyone at anytime. This allows us to challenge our students to never stop learning! This also allows us to bring authentic audiences directly into our classrooms, allowing student access to professionals in the field of study.
Endless Resources
With access to the entirety of the Internet, students have an endless amount of resources. Here we see a student presenting on research they found while studying environmental effects of increasing demands for energy.
Collaboration
Collaboration is not only simple with technology, it breaks down the barriers of distance. From working together on collaborative Google documents and presentation, to challenging each other on educational games, collaboration has afforded us the opportunity to work with those that we normally wouldn’t have access to.
Enagement
People love technology and it’s a simple way to increase engagement in a classroom. From immersive online videos, to interactive games and simulations, it’s easy to grasp the attention of the students and challenge them in new ways. Here, the students are working to overcome a challenge at at LEGO Robotics tournament.
Creativity
Creativity is one of the most important and beneficial skills a student can learn. Technology opens up the doors to creativity by breaking down conventional barriers and creating an environment free of constraints. From creating whole worlds in Minecraft to beautiful symphonic harmonies using multiple iPads, students have the freedom to explore and learn. Here, a student has created a dynamic presentation of her home culture of India, including images, videos, interviews from relatives currently living there and local food that she made!