Quantity to Quality

            When I went through student teaching, I was required to use some form of technology in ever lesson I taught. It did not matter what technology it was, I just needed to use some type of technology. For most lessons, I would find a video that I could play at the beginning of my lesson or I would make a Smart Notebook file that would summarize my lesson. Very rarely, if ever, did I think to myself “wow this technology really enhances my lesson”. I realized the push needs to go from using technology in every lesson to finding technologies that work to enhance your lesson. The shift needs to go from quantity to quality.

            As discussed in chapter 6 of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, determining what technology is worth your time is the hardest part (Guernsey, Levine). There are many lists online that discuss the best apps and technologies to use, but they all list different technologies. These lists leave us still wondering, what do we look for when searching for new technologies? According to Educationworld.com , teachers need to look past the “bells and whistles” of the apps and focus on the question, what are students getting from this technology that they can`t get from another type of instruction? The goal is not to make the content fit the technology, it is to teach the content in the best possible way.  


Teachers, what do you look for when searching for new technologies?

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 30, 2018 at 11:44 AM

    Technology should be used to scaffold off of the original content that was taught to improve the students understanding of the topic. When choosing technology to accompany a lesson, I want to be sure it is interactive. I look for technology that allows for higher levels of thinking and ways that students can express what they have learned. For example, a video that follows up with thought provoking discussion questions or an app that allows students to interact through sharing their ideas.

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  2. Emily EstalSeptember 30, 2018 at 11:50 AM

    Technology should be used to scaffold off of the original content that was taught to improve the students understanding of the topic. When choosing technology to accompany a lesson, I want to be sure it is interactive. I look for technology that allows for higher levels of thinking and ways that students can express what they have learned. For example, a video that follows up with thought provoking discussion questions or an app that allows students to interact through sharing their ideas.

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