Why Use Technology in Your Classroom?

 Why Use Technology in Your Classroom?

For this blog post, I wanted to shift gears from sharing an educational technology tool to the benefits of using technology in the classroom. In today's world and the future, it is inevitable that technology will be presented to children from a young age. One year ago, we were scrambling to figure out the best way to teach our students using technology. For this school year, it has been imperative that technology is implemented in classrooms. Even during a traditional school year, technology is very beneficial for teachers and students. 

One big note is that technology should be integrated in classrooms intentionally. Using technology just to say it is being used will not benefit your students. I was guilty of this my first few years of teaching. I used technology to check off on observations lists that it was being used. Until I worked a school that used Google Education tools and worked with other educators who also used EdTech tools, I didn't use technology in an intentional way.  

Aspire2Be created this sketch note and I think it is a great summary of reasons technology is so useful in the classroom!

Image Source: Aspire 2 Be
Twitter: @Aspire2Be

1) Learn Anywhere

With platforms such as Google Classroom, students are able to access assignments, links, videos, images, and many other things from any location, with or without WIFI (depending on the device being used). 

Have a student who is going to be absent? Post their assignment in your LMS and they can complete it at home (or wherever they will be). You don't have to worry about losing the papers that you saved while they were out and they can have it submitted before they return to school. Through the use of video-based learning platforms (Flipgrid, Google Meet, Edpuzzle, etc.) students can access any recorded lectures or other types of videos to assist them with lessons they may miss while absent. 

2) Promote Collaboration & Provide Feedback

Using technology tools allows for tons of collaboration in the classroom. Teachers can easily collaborate with other teachers to plan lessons and share various activities and materials. Students are able to work together and with the teacher on different assignments and projects. Students can work on group projects outside of school. 

Through collaboration assignment and projects, students learn valuable skills of working with others. Through the use of Google Classroom and Google tools (docs, slides, etc.), as a teacher I was able to easily monitor students' progress and give feedback from school or home. My students were also great about checking their emails so most received their feedback quickly and made adjustments. Students can also provide feedback to their peers through various tools. 

Kami is another great tool for collaboration and feedback. More than just typing on PDFs, students can work together to annotate work. A great use of Kami is as a digital whiteboard. Just insert a blank page and use it as a whiteboard that is shared out for students to annotate on with the teacher in real time. It can be turned into a digital anchor chart for students to refer to whenever it is needed. If the document is shared in Google Classroom, they have access to it at any time. There are some more ideas on using Kami collaboratively listed here. 

3) Increase Engagement

There are so  many tools that can be used in the classroom to engage students. Our students have been presented with technology since they were young and have grown up knowing how to use various devices. Why not bring the tools that engage them outside of school into the classroom? 

Online polls (Poll Everywhere, Mentimeter, etc.), interactive presentation tools (Pear Deck, Nearpod, Jamboard), online whiteboards (whiteboard.fi, whiteboard chat, Kami, Math Whiteboard), game-based learning platforms (Gimkit, Kahoot, Quizlet, Quizizz), and more are all great tools to promote student engagement. Using tools like these throughout your lesson can increase student engagement, thus increasing student learning.

Flipped learning is another way of increasing engagement. Teachers use video recording tools to record lessons for students to watch at home and use class time for assignments, practice, and discussions. Video recording and screencasting tools include Screencastify, Screen-cast-o-matic, Loom, and more. Each of these provides various free features and time limits, as well as paid versions. iPads, tablets, desktop, and laptop computers often also have built in recorders. 

4) Automates Tasks

Grading papers can take up a good amount of teacher planning time (and after school and weekend hours). Using various online quiz platforms can save tons of time in grading. Google Forms and I are best friends because of how much time it saves me grading. Other platforms also make grading easy- Go Formative, Kahoot, Quizizz, Quizlet, and many others have built in grading tools that can provide students immediate feedback on their assignment as soon as they hit submit. 

Scheduling parent conferences can be automated in a variety of ways. Simply put in the times for parents to sign up. This can save lots of time. My favorite tools for scheduling conferences (or any type of sign up) are Google Calendar and Sign Up Genius. 

A quick add to this... one of my favorite tools was to display my iPad through my projection screen. This kept me from being tied to the computer hooked up to the projection screen and I could easily move around the room and be in different locations. I used Doceri Desktop, which allowed me to cast my screen and showed my annotations. There are other programs similar to this for tablets as well. While this isn't exactly automating a task, using this program definitely made it easier for me to teach. 

5) Encourages Creativity & Differentiation

I have been amazed at some of the things I have seen and heard of students create using technology. Using technology, students are given so many opportunities to be creative in their own formats that appeal to their interest and learning styles. Here are just a few things I have seen/heard of being created by students this year: 

• Videos
• Google Drawings
• Websites
• Student blogs
• Stop-motion animation
• Presentations

Keep in mind, these are just a few things students have created using technology. There are so many other great items I know I haven't forgotten to list, but all these have come out of allowing students to manipulate various technology tools and express themselves the way they prefer.

In addition to creativity, technology allows for quick and easy differentiation in a variety of platforms. There are many educational programs that automatically adjust to a student's learning level based on a pre-test. In addition, teachers can provide for differentiation through LMS such as Google Classrooms. Students can be provided different versions of assignments or different URL's, videos, etc. based on their level. 

6) Gives Students a Voice

There are many students who are quiet and reserved in class. There are also many students who are not afraid to speak up and can dominate a conversation. Using technology tools, all students are given a voice and can participate comfortably in class. Using interactive presentations, online polls, video based discussions, and blogs are just a few tools students can use to be encouraged to share their ideas. 

Student blogs are a great way for students to share their voice in a digital format. Students can use blogger with their Google for Education account, or there are other blogging platforms developed specifically for students. Gimkit even has a new built in writing feature called Gimkit Ink, in which students write about various topics and can choose to share with their classmates. 

Overall...

We are living in a technology-centered world and integrating technology into classrooms provides students so many important skills for the future. However, it is important that technology is used appropriately and to enhance student learning, not just to use to say it is being used. As we wind up the school year, try to implement one new technology tool with your students. Maybe it is a tool you recently learned about and want to try, or a tool that other teachers have used all year but you haven't had the time to experiment with it. The end of the school year can be a crazy time for everyone, but it can also be a time for finding new ideas for the next school year.