You know what’s incredible? Standing in front of a smartboard in the middle of a lesson and having no idea how to escape from a certain program which you have just made full screen. Then, from the back of the room, you hear a little voice that sends you some technical support. It amazes me how much my students know about technology and I am eternally grateful for their knowledge as it often saves me and teaches me all at the same time!
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It’s important to remember our audience when we are presenting using technology. That is why I feel that understood.com or polleverywhere are valuable tools both for engagement and for teaching students that their phones and educational technology can be used in class, and can be used to help them learn. It’s a journey, and your students are certainly not just along for the ride anymore – sometimes they’re driving! This means we need to be open to let them drive, and let them have some more autonomy in our classrooms.
Thanks for this great post!
garth.
Great post Christine!
I really think exploring tech in education is a collaborative process involving teachers and students. Some teachers who are intimidated by technology fear that students already know how to do everything and the teacher will be judged by students when they don’t know how to do something. Two things have stood out for me in using technology:
1) students love to help: I never feel judged by students when I don’t know how to do something. They are so excited to teach me something. They inherently understand that no one knows how to do everything with every new piece of technology (hardware or software) and the fact that I am open to learning from them completely makes them forget about the fact that I didn’t know how to do something. Authenticity is so important. It is when we pretend to know everything that we are judged when we don’t.
2) although they are “digital natives”, students can learn a lot from us. As I mentioned in one of my blog posts, I think we have a lot to offer in terms of modelling uses of technology beyond entertainment. We can expose them to ways technology can help them organize their lives, contribute meaningfully to forums which interest them, and of course learn and be inspired. You would be surprise at how few students use technology beyond games (which also have their value), sharing photos/status updates, and entertainment.