Using tech to move in the right direction

In the teaching world 10 years ago the next big thing was the Smartboard and how it completely changed the classroom by promoting engagement and interaction. Now the push appears to be more on the lines of the teaching practice or techniques including differentiated instruction and the flipped classroom. I feel that the focus of late is to shorten how much time the teacher spends at the front of the room and focus more on student engagement with the material.

I am finding as I continue this journey of action research that technology is only as good as the person who is using it. More and more am I discovering new and innovative software or web-based applications that carry merit can be applied in the classroom. But much of my “playing” time with these technologies is focused on not only how it relates in terms of curriculum, but how I can actually teach other students how to use them and whether or not it merits the use.

I think that despite what some might say, our students are not always as tech savy as the teachers (as discussed in the article here). This obviously ranges from school to school and teacher to teacher. I think that its fair to say that teachers use technology to solve problems, whereas students use technology because they have it, but don’t necessarily have the tools or knowledge to use it. I think that this gap is becoming more and more prominent as I get further and further into my teaching career.

This has to be the computer science teacher in me who loves the discovery of new software or technologies. My new favourite math based tool is DESMOS a web-based graphing application that takes minutes to become familiar with and for me is replacing the graphing calculator. I am also an avid Google Apps user frequently using Google Forms to help me keep track of anecdotal observations, or to mark a quick quiz to help check student understanding using Flubaroo. I have used Kahoot.it and the students absolutely loved it, reinforcing my decision to take-risks and offer more variety in terms of my lessons.

These are tools that help enhance my teaching and support me in the classroom but also during all of the record and note-taking that emphasizes the assessment as, for and of learning.  The big idea for me over the coming weeks is how can I be sure that I am taking the right steps and moving in the forward direction rather than back to where I started.