I am tech-illiterate, so trying to use technology is just too slow and it never works anyway, so why should I waste time with technology?
My students are not mature enough to handle anything but a lecture, so why should I waste time with technology?
I have taught it this way my entire career and it works, so why should I waste time with technology?
The wheel ain't broke so don't fix it........ I get it....... No wait a minute, I don't get it.
So with that said, here are 5 conversation starters for why technology may be a POSSIBLE benefit in your classroom.
- Technology provides for better data analysis. Teachers can figure out quickly when a student lacks the prerequisite skills for a class. Technology can offer added benefits in regard to checking for understanding. There are a ton of Survey/Quiz types of tools on the Tech Tools page. As an added benefit, you might just save yourself some serious grading time.
- Technology can bring the world into your classroom. Something as simple as Google earth could help students get a better picture of content related material. Find an educator in another part of the state, country or even the world to team up with and help your students get a better picture of how that lesson impacts people outside of the walls of your classroom. With technology, your classroom truly has no walls.
- Technology makes your classroom more accessible. A simple website can provide your students and parents with all classroom materials. Use the online gradebook to communicate with parents and students, before there is a problem. Technology can make your classroom more transparent, saving you having to answer the same types of emails over and over.
- Technology gives you a way to give more individualized - differentiated instruction. Use technology to help bridge the gaps weaker students have, or to further challenge your more advanced learners.
- Technology helps promote student creativity, engagement, and collaboration skills. Students learn best when they are doing. Technology allows students to create in amazing ways. Students will be required to write formal research papers in higher education settings, but the reality is that they will have to create in other ways for the rest of their lives. Arm them with the foundation they need to be successful thinkers and collaborators in the work world.
The technology gap grows every day for some of our students. We cannot assume that our students with regular technology access at home are getting all the skills they need. For the students with no technology access at home, we can be certain they are getting further and further behind all the time. It is even more vital that these students attain tech skills at school.
Don't force tech use in your classroom, but do try to think about upcoming lessons, and look for ways to see if a technology tool may enhance your lesson. Technology works best when it is a tool used within great lessons, not when a lesson is created to use technology in a forced manner.
The bottom line in my personal opinion, is that you owe it to your students to incorporate technology in some fashion. There are some barriers in place right now that make this difficult, but please understand that we will do everything we can do to help find a way to make your ideas work.
Like it or not, technology is here to stay!