Teachers do it in Front of People (Tech Tips)

I've never had a class on how to use a pen. I've also never had a class on how to use an eraser. I haven't had special seminar on how to put plastic page folders into a three-ringed binder or write with chalk either. I didn't have to have special training for any of those tools, because I saw them in use. I went, like everyone else, into the classroom and I saw my teachers using a pen, an eraser and putting pages into a three-ringed binder and use the occasional piece of chalk. These things were just tools to help my teachers, and eventually me, do what I wanted to do, teach.

Ed tech is just another tool. It's not a panacea for all that ails nor will it make teaching easier for you. In fact, it adds complication to an already dynamic and complex context. It does however, allow you do some new things that you couldn't do before and that's where we should be looking when adopting technology. The questions that I keep asking again and again, is "wouldn't it be great if we could extend guided writing by..." or "It would be much more visual for students if they could..." With these questions in mind, ed tech becomes very easy to integrate.

My advice for anyone wanting to use technology in the classroom is to get comfortable using it yourself first. No expertise is necessary, just a general feeling of comfort with it. If you have a site or app that you use and it's appropriate for the class, share it like it is. Plan and think about how to make your process visible to your class as you are using this bit of technology. It also helps if the technology is a means to an end and not the end itself. But slowly release responsibility to students so that they can use ed tech independently and to enhance their own learning. If we all used technology in a way that students can see, we could spend more of our time helping our students creating or realising their ideas rather than boring them with lock-step instruction.