On the Road to Technology Integration...
Do you sometimes feel that it seems impossible to keep up with the latest trends in education? Do you feel like you finally get something down and then it seems so outdated? Well this realization happened four years ago when my classroom had the fortunate experience to take part in a pilot program to see the impact technology had on education. This meant that my students would be at a 1:1 with iPads in my classroom. Having a one-to-one device in the fingertips of my students became a luxury and a learning experience for us all. It is wonderful how technology changes the way we teach, how our students learn, and the way we can communicate with one another. I have learned that today’s students gravitate towards technology and are much more engaged when they are participating in activities utilizing technology. I have seen first-hand the amazing impact it has had on my students and how it has helped me grow professionally. I am so lucky to be in a school that values technology and have seen how it has really become part of the norm. I’m a beginner on this road to technology integration, but I thought I’d share some things I have found quite useful along the way.Click the link below to check out 50+ FREE amazing tech tools that will engage your students. These are some highly recommended 21st century applications!
50 Free Tech Tools For Your Classroom
Learn and Grow Together
Integrating technology effectively can seem overwhelming
and time consuming, but learning and growing together will help relieve some of
the anxiety you may be feeling. I have
heard the comments being made, “Not one more thing” or “It’s just too
much.” However, we live in a digital age
and our job as educators is to prepare our students to be college and career
ready. This means our students will be
using technology that hasn’t even been invented yet. “With the accelerating pace of social and
technological change, the World Economic Forum estimates that 65 percent of children today will end up in
careers that don't even exist yet” (Kielburger, 2017). You might be wondering…How am I going to prepare
a student to do a job that doesn’t even exist yet? Well the answer is exploration, creating, problem
solving, collaboration and communication!
Not having all the answers is okay.
Taking risks and trying new things allows our students to develop these problem
solving skills when they are learning alongside their teacher. It’s okay to take risks and try something
out! If it fails, make adjustments next
time and learn and grow from this experience together. We often learn more from failure. Failure leads to success and allows us to
make more connections and problem solve.
We can learn so much from our students by giving them the opportunity to
have ownership of their learning.
This video gives some great advice on how we can prepare our kids for the future.
This video gives some great advice on how we can prepare our kids for the future.
Releasing the Power
In a world where we have access to information in the palm
of our hand, I decided to have one of my guided reading groups go around the
world with an iPad using the Reading A-Z app.
My students read various books about places around the world such as
Alaska, Egypt, China, Japan, The Amazon, Australia, and the Galapagos
Islands. While reading these books my
students participated in a multitude of research skills that included note
taking from text, watching video clips, using a safe search engine, KidRex, to
find more information about these places, and creating presentations. I was impressed with their hunger for
knowledge and learning more about the world around them. Navigating non-fiction selections was a skill
that was taught from the beginning. My
educational assistant and I showed them how to read utilizing text features to
make the rigorous reading selections easier to understand. They were advanced readers, but needed
enriching projects to demonstrate the importance of reading to learn. Technology became the essential tool that
allowed me to differentiate instruction and begin to personalize learning for
my students. It was difficult at first
to release the power and hand so much responsibility to these students, but technology
provided them with a way to seek out the world around them and learn about a
place they could one day visit. I love
showing students that it is a big world out there and that there is so much to
do and see. I feel that technology is a
way that everyone can have the opportunity to see and learn about the amazing
places in our world. As an educator, I
enjoy utilizing technology to allow diverse learners the opportunity to achieve
their highest potential. Virtual
Reality
has become a new trend that has fascinated me and allowed me to see that
learners
can be transported to a reality you never thought possible. If you can
get your hands on these devices, you can transport your learners to
places you never thought possible.
Click the link below to check out my infographic to see how this trend can
transform education.
https://create.piktochart.com/output/27451184-jamie-tellish-edt6020
Connect Kids Globally
“Technology is the language today’s students speak”
(Delzer, 2015). Students need a digital
foot print that will prepare them for their future. Communication and collaboration are skills
students will need to be successful in their future occupations. Start now!
Connect globally and allow students to have experiences outside the
classroom walls. Allow them to see that
social media can be used to make connections and learn from experts around the
world. Let them see that working together
and developing problem solving skills will help them interact with the world
around them. It might seem scary, but
remember doing what’s best for kids is what we strive to do. Providing students with these opportunities
will help prepare them for their futures.
·
Create a class Twitter account
·
Join ePals
·
Skype a class or expert in a field
The possibilities are endless and will continue to change
rapidly. New trends roll in and another
trend will shortly take its place. The
road to technology integration is ever-changing and staying on top of these
trends can be very time-consuming. Reach
out to other professionals, follow educators on Twitter, and check out blogs
that interest you! But keep in mind…it
doesn’t happen overnight! It’s a
learning experience that becomes an adventure you and your students will share
throughout the year. Remember…relax and
have fun.
Click the link below for some interesting information to reflect upon. This will illustrate the significance of preparing our children for the future.
A. (2016, September 03). Did You Know (Officially updated for 2018). Retrieved February 08, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06BXgWbGvA
Kellogg, K. (2016, June 10). 50 Free Tech Tools For Your Classroom. Retrieved February 08, 2018, from https://www.simplek12.com/ipads-mobile-learning/50-free-tech-tools-for-your-classroom/
Kielburger, C. A. (2017, May 19). How Can We Prepare Kids
For Jobs That Don't Exist Yet? Retrieved February 07, 2018, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/craig-and-marc-kielburger/future-job-market_b_16687862.html
T. (2015, October 13). Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as
Learners and Students as Leaders | Kayla Delzer | TEDxFargo. Retrieved February
07, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6vVXmwYvgs
