Picking and Choosing
Educational technology is constantly changing and expanding. This is why it is critical to learn HOW and WHY to use the tools in the classroom instead of learning a specific program that could be replaced next week. For example, a lot of teachers were obsessed with Padlet last year and used it for a lot of instructional strategies. Although Padlet still exists, creating one of the virtual walls is not as convenient now, as it costs money beyond a certain quantity. Additionally, when a teacher gets too comfortable with one educational technology tool, it can become overused and no more engaging for students than a worksheet, as they become so accustomed to it. Teachers need to be as dynamic and flexible as the tools themselves. If the tools aren’t lighting a fire in students’ eyes and encouraging them to be creators as they take ownership of their learning, there is probably a better tool out there.
So, how do we know what is a good fit for our content, grade level, and teaching style? There are a plethora of educational technology tools available, so it can become challenging. Have you ever gone “creeping” so deep on Facebook or Instagram that you’re ten clicks from your home page and looking at your friend’s cousin’s sister’s boyfriend’s mom? That’s what happens to me with educational technology tools if I don’t criticize and test as I go. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the opportunities, as my Bitmoji shows, but QUALITY is greater than quantity. To help me decide what to use, I look at the blogs of trusted educational professionals, technology reports such as the NMC/CoSNHorizonReport, and listen to the anecdotes of my colleagues. Other times, I try tools on my own, reflect, and fail forward as necessary. Good ideas come from parts of ideas that then develop even bigger (Johnson, 2010), so sometimes I start with a hunch and develop as I go.
While I encourage you to view my Symbaloo and evidence of digital learning in my classroom, I give the links with the caution that these are just tools. The tool itself is not important; HOW the tool is used is. Sometimes my students are on Google Drawings creating a visual representation of their learning. Sometimes my students are on Read Theory or Prodigy working towards their own mastery of reading and math, respectively. Sometimes we do a Kahoot! to review a specific topic together. And yet, sometimes I Google “multiplication facts online games” minutes before I decide we need it and throw the random link on my Google Classroom stream. I am constantly changing the tools I use and how I use them because my students are constantly changing as they learn and grow, and the tools themselves are changing and expanding.
References
Johnson, S. [Riverhead Books]. (2010, September 17). Where good ideas come from [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU
