Hi everybody! Welcome to my final blog post of the semester! Today I will be reflecting on my biggest takeaways regarding instructional technology and digital learning.
Before taking this course, I didn’t think much about how digital learning and instructional technology impact learning, especially in elementary school. One thing that surprised me this semester was the sheer number of technology tools that are available. Utilizing instructional technology within the classroom is a great way to provide differentiated instruction to all learners. Mote is a technology tool that allows teachers to add voice notes to assignments within google classroom. This can be incredibly beneficial to students who have a hard time reading written feedback, or ELL students who are stronger listeners than they are readers. Another technology tool that I really enjoyed learning about was screencastify. Teachers can use screencastify to provide recorded direct instruction to students, and give feedback among so many other things.
One of my favorite aspects about instructional technology is how diverse it is. There are so many different types of tools teachers can use to support their students' learning. Also, teachers can give students the opportunity to choose the technology tool they would like to work with. This allows students to truly become involved within their own education as they make decisions that are best suitable for their own personal needs. In the past 15 months teachers have been increasingly using instructional technology due to the pandemic and having schools become hybrid. By utilizing the hybrid model otherwise known as blended learning, teachers “combine face to face instruction with computer mediated instruction” (Hratsinki, 2019). One of the benefits of blended learning is that teachers are able to provide students with video lectures or work to do outside of the classroom, which allows students to work completely at their own pace. For example, if the teacher uploads a video of her explaining a certain math problem, a student can rewatch this video as many times as he wants. This allows the student to work at his own pace. Also, because students are working at their own pace outside of the classroom, when they come into the classroom they are able to ask specific questions and the teacher can provide targeted feedback to this student.
Utilizing technology within the classroom can be incredibly beneficial to both students and teachers. In current times, one of the best ways for teachers to be supported on their own teaching journey is through PLNs or Personalized Learning Networks. PLN’s are used to communicate with other professionals in your field, ask questions, find new ideas and be supported by a community going through similar struggles as you. One of the PLN’s I joined this semester was twitter! Over the course of the semester I have taken part in two twitter chats where I got to interact with professionals from all over the world! In Karly Moura’s article “A Beginner’s Guide To Twitter For Educators” she states “twitter chats let you interact with people from anywhere in the world in real time. It’s some of the best professional learning around!” Being able to interact with people from all over the country who share a common connection was such an interesting and enlightening experience. If you haven’t joined a twitter chat yet, I highly recommend you do!
One of the most interesting topics I learned about this semester was internet safety. When I grew up we did not regularly use technology within the classroom and the only piece of advice we got was “don’t talk to strangers online.” However, as technology is rapidly changing and being used way more often within classrooms, it is incredibly important to teach students about internet safety. One of the resources that I found the most helpful was the Common Sense Media: Protecting Student Privacy Course. This is an hour long course that is designed to teach educators how they can protect the students in their classroom. I would highly recommend you take this course because it provides so much interesting and beneficial information that can help you keep your students safe online. Also, every district has data privacy agreements. Before you use a technology tool in your classroom you should check this list to ensure it has been approved by your district. One of the best parts of Common Sense Media is that it reviews technology tools for teachers, providing them with the pros and cons of each tool, and an overall safety score. Using common sense media within your classroom is a great way to keep your students knowledgeable and safe!
One of my biggest takeaways from this semester is how much research and thought goes into the inclusion of each technology tool within a classroom. It doesn’t just magically happen. Teachers spend time researching tools, then making sure they are approved by the district, then familizaring themselves with them, and finally introducing them to their students. It takes a lot of hard work that goes into bringing every tech tool into the classroom.
Technology is ever changing, which means the technology tools used in our classrooms are also always changing. Utilizing technology within the classroom can be incredibly beneficial to both students and teachers as long as they are properly educated about how to stay safe online. I will definitely implement so many of the things I have learned throughout this course within my future classroom! It has been so much fun writing these blogs as I have learned more and more throughout the semester. I hope you all have enjoyed learning along with me! -Nicole :)
Images
https://www.learnersedge.com/blog/personalized-learning-networks
http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2020/06/moving-to-hybrid-learning-model.html
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/06/smart-review-harnessing-the-power-of-videos-with-screencastify/
Sources
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11528-019-00375-5.pdf
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
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