Think of it like the box. We know what is in there. We know what it can do (nothing). So we protect it and covet the best time slot. We also know we can assign a task in there and have 40 minutes of freedom so we can assess students individually as needed.
What if we replaced the word "technology" with pencil? Would it seem ridiculous still like in this blog post here? As an educator, it comes down to a matter of what and when we teach students. There are risks like them searching an inappropriate video or image. However, if we don't teach them how to use technology as part of the daily routines in school how could they use it correctly on their own? Recently I attended a great conference as a presenter, Podstock, and I came away with an important take-away. What is your return on instruction? Have you measured the differences in students when you use project based learning compared to a traditional test? That's the value of integrating technology. It enriches instruction and it enriches the students. I do not think it must be constantly used. It is clearly ok to unplug - even plan for tech outages when there is substitutes. We can do this easily by letting go of complete control and the dependence on memorization of facts. Think about admitting it is OK to let the students fail or to fail yourself. If you can't show them how to handle failure then how can we expect them to? If there was one item I would advocate we use technology for in the future is collaboration and digital storytelling. There is so much more depth in creation when we add audio, visual and music to a project!
3 Comments
Nicole Rogier
7/24/2017 03:11:44 pm
What a great way of putting it! I completely agree that our education system likes to put everything 'in a box'. Take our schedule, for example. It is nailed down to the minute and I can't budge hardly at all because this would mess up my coworkers' schedules. This can be really frustrating at times, though, when my students are deep into their learning, are excited and motivated, and/or are right in the middle of a project. Your metaphor allowed me to see technology in the same frame of mind as how I see the schedule - it is nice to have the structure, but also takes away the creativity, spontaneity, and freedom of effective learning.
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David Hendershot
7/25/2017 01:26:45 pm
Thanks for agreeing with this concept. I wish more schools had a flexible schedule day where you could invest in larger modules or projects. I clear my entire Friday afternoon every week so we can do this and it is the best - most well attended day of the year.
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Jory Murry
7/25/2017 06:11:05 pm
I completely agree with what you said at the end about focusing technology use on collaboration. A big part of my video on my philosophy of education in relation to technology focused on using technology to help our students become better collaborators.
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AuthorI am a 2nd Grade teacher with years of experience in digital editing and film. I have a 2nd Degree Black Belt, am a professional wedding photographer, and instruct fine art painting classes. Archives
July 2017
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