Two weeks after my first Face 2 Face with Cohort 21 today, the biggest question in my mind is how to determine whether technology I might use in my teaching falls into the category of relatively meaningless entertainment (what I might call edutainment), or if it carries real educational value. By value, I mean: will it give my students an opportunity to learn a new skill or consolidate their learning? I shamefully admit that my current use of the SmartBoard in the grade 1 classroom consists mainly of playing videos for body breaks, or sometimes putting up a math question for discussion.
So many of the apps that I have encountered seem like great ‘hooks’ for learning, but lack substance. On top of having to sift through this kind of content, I am also faced with the challenge of ensuring that apps and programs will be usable without needing to read a lot – as many of my students are in the very beginning stages of reading development. With screen time being a concern of parents and fellow teachers, it is important that I choose technology wisely. I am hoping to access more tools for teaching and to find ways for my students to not just use technology, but to manipulate and question it as well. 
You raise some interesting challenges that, as a teacher with no primary experience, I wouldn’t have even considered! One way to start might be to flip the question around: start with a problem/dilemma in your classroom and search for the technology that solves it.
Tia,
Great questions in your first post. Our Second Face 2 Face Session will hopefully answer many of them. However if you are looking for some reading on shallow vs deep use of tech in the classroom this is a good place to start.
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/06/samr-model-explained-for-teachers.html
Justin
Hi Tia,
Foundational questions for any good teacher venturing down the EdTech journey. I would suggest checking out some of the other blogs by this year’s members – Ed Hitchcock or Danny Neville to start. They share the same questions – leave a comment on their blogs to get the discussion rolling 🙂
Thanks,
garth.
Nothing shameful about your current use of technology! Sifting through what is out there can seem like a daunting task. For so long I was using my SmartBoard for only lessons that I created on Notebook, until one of my colleagues mentioned that she uses it for great interactive websites like starfall and pbskds. It was such a simple thing that I simple hadn’t thought of doing before! My students find it fascinating and enjoy interacting with each other and these websites during whole group lessons. We have lots of options! 🙂
Nothing shameful about your current use of technology! Sifting through what is out there can seem like a daunting task. For so long I was using my SmartBoard for only lessons that I created on Notebook, until one of my colleagues mentioned that she uses it for great interactive websites like starfall and pbskds. It was such a simple thing that I simple hadn’t thought of doing before! My students find it fascinating and enjoy interacting with each other and these websites during whole group lessons. We have lots of options! 🙂
Hi Tia,
Part of growing and changing means that you wrestle with big questions. Having a son in Sr. Kindergarten, I can relate to the screen time and appreciate that you look critically at technology that will enhance the learning instead of stop the kids from screaming.
I think Andrew makes an excellent point in flipping question – what is the issue you’re having or goal you’d like to achieve and then seek out the tech from there.
On another note around feedback in young people, have you checked out Eduardo Briceno – growth mindset in kids? Here’s the link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc
To Justin’s point – I think the second F2F will bring the 1st into greater focus.