I have been grappling with two questions for months, now. What does technology look like in a high school classroom, and, what should technology look like in a high school classroom? Honestly, I did not expect these questions to be so difficult to answer. I have spent many, many hours during last seven months researching educational technology and its application in a high school social studies classroom. I am excited about all of the new tools, websites, applications, and projects that seemed to flood the internet blogs overnight (or maybe I just wasn't looking?) There are so many paths that I could explore with my iPad classroom during the 2015-2016 school year. But I want to be informed, prepared, and authentic with my pilot program. Before I go any farther, and in case you were reading for my answer to these two questions, I do not know the perfect model for technology in the classroom, nor do I have any boastful ideas on what will actually happen in my own classroom. But I want to share my thoughts and hopes for the upcoming school year, and allow my students and their parents an opportunity to read a bit about my goals and philosophies. |
After attending an educational technology conference in December 2014, I implemented a "BYOD: Bring Your Own Device" policy in my classroom. Students were allowed to bring their personal laptops, tablets, or smartphones to view, interact with, or complete activities in the classroom. Using "Google Apps for Education", I have found a new way to communicate with students as they learn and work. The Google Suite allows one-on-one personalized instruction, differentiation, and networking like I had yet to see in education. Of course, I will continue to use the Google Apps for Education, especially Google Classroom, but these few applications, as powerful as they are, just didn't seem to be enough.
When I applied for the digital pilot program, specifically asking for a classroom set of iPads, I shared my belief that schools should not be afraid of digital devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) in our buildings. In almost every other arena, individuals are not only enticed to use their devices in public places, but for some professions, it is even required. I feel that students needs a safe place to learn about the internet and opportunities available through technology, just like the other citizenship and "Character Counts" values in schools. I want to use my pilot program to help students learn how to use these tools in ways other than personal web surfing and social media.
But then, after I found out that I would have these amazing tools in my classroom next year, I began to panic. How do I make my philosophy a reality? I go back to the question, what should technology look like in the classroom? In the school system, we frequently hear that our students' future employers want them capable of using technology. But how does that translate into my history classroom? What are the specific skills that I need to teach/offer for a truly valuable experience with educational technology? I would assume these skills include articulation through websites, video, and social media, collaboration, and problem-solving to complete a goal. Therefore, I will be seeking project-based learning opportunities so that my students can learn to work cooperatively to ask "big" important questions, collaborate to problem-solve these questions, and articulate their purposeful research and ideas to spark new learning.
I know this upcoming school year will be filled with lots of big dreams and failed realities. I cannot pretend that I can accomplish this change in mindset during a single year. But I hope, that if nothing else, my students will watch me take a chance, try something brand new, and continue working towards my goal even when it doesn't work perfectly along the way. In that way, maybe we will all learn something new this year!