Tech Thoughts: Where Does Technology Belong in Schools?

 

    Technology is everywhere. It's in our homes, cars, and most importantly; our schools. Students have more access to technology than even before and the number of resources keeps growing. What does that mean in education?

    Students today view technology as synonymous with education and rightly so. They expect to be using technology in their educational journeys and to find opportunities to connect with others and to share that learning, and why shouldn't they when technology has proven to provide opportunities for deeper learning and the chance to collect samples of work for authentic purposes as opposed to classroom based prompts so specific they do not always connect. Students now are able to wield technology as quickly and deftly as kids used to be able to find words in a dictionary. Technology for most adults is something that we have had to learn to keep up with the times as opposed to being born into it. Students view technology as a tool to help them access the world and make connection while some adults feel that it is dangerous and an easy out to harder skills. 

        While technology can be hard to keep up with I feel it is a powerful tool that needs to be utilized and celebrated. Just recently, I have considered how to have students in my classroom use Chat GPT as a way to edit and revise their writing. Not only do I want them to understand how this tool works and how to use it responsibly, I also want to give students who might truly benefit from the tool access to it's features such as my students on an IEP and students with dyslexia; students who normally struggle to get their thoughts on the page due to all of the other factors they face now have the chance to be graded on what they can do and know as opposed to what their learning difference allows them to do. Technology in education has the potential for all students to show success and mastery of content in a way that is appropriate and beneficial to each student. As educators we must be open to providing chances for students to use new technologies even though or the act of using them may be uncomfortable at first. We as educators have to be leaders of technology for students and take steps to stay current with the trends and uses of various programs. This does not have to be done in one go! For the past few years my T-TESS goal has been to incorporate at least one new piece of technology each year into my classroom, one year it was Plickers, another it was Gimkit, another is was Wakelet. None the less we owe it to our students to present them with the tools they will encounter beyond the educational career.

    Using technology in the classroom can have powerful impacts for student learning. According to the Bloom's Taxonomy, some of the most difficult skills a student can do are to analyze, evaluate, and create (2001). Technology allows for students to easily be able to complete the three highest levels of thinking in a single program and then to be able to share that learning with a global community. We as educators are always looking for ways to make learning authentic and technology offers a natural avenue to that goal. Having students create podcasts over their favorite book goes beyond the traditional book report, giving students access to information and asking that that they identify reliable and trustworthy sources is better than giving them a book with basic facts, having students chose a topic of interest and evaluate how it has contributed to society are skills that can then be transferred. As stated by Church (2008), "the learning can start at any point, but inherent in that learning is going to be the prior elements and stages [of learning]". Students should be active in their learning, not passive (Common Sense Education, 2015). Using technology in the classroom reaches all levels of learning in a way that is meaningful for the students and allows for the developing of skills such as collaboration, networking, debating, and negotiation. 

    We need to begin using the digital taxonomy along with the tradition Blooms taxonomy when planning instruction to assure that all needs of our students are being met and fostering a place where their content and technological skills can grow. access to information is a pivotal function of the library where all students can have equitable access to tools and programs as well as a professional librarian, in most cases, that can help guide them through the skills needed to use it efficiently. The librarian can also offer support in the way of trainings or the modeling of new programs and trends for staff and community members to help navigate the plethora of platforms and programs available to use. Providing access to toolkits can also be a wonderful support, allowing for educators to explore options from experts and find helpful tips on specific programs, toolkits such as K-12 Blueprint Toolkits allow users to explore at their own pace. Using technology for educational purposes is a team effort and there must be buy in for it to be successful just as any other educational initiative that has become prominent throughout the years, unlike others that tend to be trends that so fall by the wayside, technology is not going away any time soon. 

References

Bloomin’ Apps. (2022). Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything. https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy | Common Sense Education. (2015). Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy

Churches, A. (n.d.). Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy. http://www.ccconline.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/11/Churches_2008_DigitalBloomsTaxonomyGuide.pdf

Toolkits | K-12 Blueprint. (2023). K-12 Blueprint. https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits

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