Beginning of the Fall 2023 Semester
Given the time I began my personal educational journey (circa 2008), I understand that I am part of the generation of learners who progressed through school alongside the development of educational technology. Growing up, tech always played an integral role in my classrooms, whether that was through a SMART Board, Chromebooks, projectors, or more. I recall seeing a SMART Board for the first time in kindergarten and it being the "hot topic" of my school as it had only been a pilot in a handful of classrooms. Without understanding it's impact, I was lucky enough to find myself part of the pilot group. This "luck" grew into the "norm" as I progressed through school, and by the time I finished high school, however, tools such as SMART Boards no longer had the same appeal they once did as they have become mainstream and generally accessible in the world of evolving technology. Even now as a university student, and by extension, teacher candidate, I am amazed by the technological advances that are still taking place in classrooms to this day!
In my field experience classroom, students have access to a wide variety of technology. For example, every class is equipped with a SMART board. Additionally, students have access to both Chromebooks and iPads, however the iPads are generally reserved for younger grades (Div 1) while the Chromebooks are used in the high grades (Div 2). Another piece of technology that my mentor teacher informed me about it actually the "Ozobot". These tiny robots are controlled by colour-coded coding process that tell the robot where to move. This is something that I may integrate this year if I have the chance to focus on some computer science skills with the students! Finally, all teachers have access to a document camera to stream their work on the SMART Board
Educational technology holds a dear place in my heart. This is potentially due to the fact that I have never gone without it, and therefore cannot fathom how students before me learned in the absence of it. It sounds cliche as I often question "my parents had to use books for research projects?" but by extension shows how dependent I have become on technology as a means to both further and enrich my learning.
Because of this mindset, combined with my past observations taken from field experiences (in two vastly different learning environments), I question how we as future educators can effectively implement technology into our classrooms to have meaningful impacts. Similarly, I would like to investigate how we can teach our students to differentiate between "academic" uses of the internet versus "individual" uses of the internet. This question resonated me leaving my second year of field work as I found that my then second graders were wrapped up in a confusing cycle of what they saw the internet and technology as being (TikTok, Roblox, YouTube, etc.), versus what we as educators strived for them to see technology and the internet as being (an information bank).
This question is important to me as our students are growing in an age where educational technology is no longer a question, and as a result, I would like each and every one of them to benefit from the advantages that educational technology brings to the classroom!
I really liked being able to hear about your past experience with technology and how it grew with you as a student. I too have questions about how we should teach students about the difference between academic and individual uses for technology in the classroom, so please keep me updated on anything you hear.
ReplyDeleteSpencer, I loved reading about all the technology you experienced in your school experience and the technology in your practicum school. I am excited to hear that your mentor teacher incorporates many different types technology in the classroom as our world is run by it now. I wonder how you and your mentor teacher will teach technology safety to your students since it is such a large part of your classroom. I believe you critical question is a great one to ask because it is very hard to make sure the technology being used in the classroom is really being used to help the stundents and their learning. Finally, I am really excited to hear about how you incorporate the "Ozobot" into your classroom learning.
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