Integrating technology in our classrooms...formerly known as BYOD

Integrating Technology in our classrooms...formerly known as BYOD

At one point, even chalk was new technology.

Months ago, we started our journey into changing the way we use technology in the classrooms.  It all started with a vision and a plan.  I did several blog posts about them last year.  You can read them here and here.


Ever since schools have existed, teachers and students have been integrating the newest technologies in their teaching and learning.  From stone tablets to iPad tablets, teachers and students have learned while using technology.  Today is no different.  However, sometimes the integration of technology is pushed along with a little nudge from a school Principal, Director, or select school leaders.  This year at our middle and high schools, that nudge came in time for the first day of school where we required that all students in grades 6 through 9 come to school with a device of their own.  We encouraged teachers to teach with those devices in mind, planned several in-service courses and professional development opportunities and let things fly.


My last blog posts were a while ago and talked about the challenges and successes of our first few weeks of this integration.  You can read those posts here and here.


As I write this new post, we are 24 weeks into the school year and the biggest question I continue to get is why did we do this?  Why did we push to have all students with devices in school this year?  Why did we ask teachers to change their mindset and thinking and plan lessons with devices in mind?  Here are the reasons why we made this change:


Reasons students should have devices in class:

1.   Provide access to information anytime, anywhere.  Students should have ubiquitous access to information for research and learning purposes.  By having access to information, students can interact in ways they could not before.  In addition to gaining access to the world of information and knowledge, students also have access to the Google suite of apps at all times.  This means that their work is always with them.  They can collaborate and participate in ways they could not before.  This in essence can expand the classroom beyond its four physical walls and its fixed time frame.  Learning can now take place anywhere and anytime.


2.  Utilizing technology can foster the 4 C's - Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication.  The 4 C's come from the P21 framework found here.  These are essential skills all students need to master to be successful in life.


3. Teachers will now explicitly teach 21st century digital skills and digital literacies.  These include the development of proficiencies and fluency with using the tools of technology, solving problems collaboratively, strengthening independent thought, developing global awareness, global voice and a global forum to present information, managing, analyzing, and synthesizing multiple streams of digital information, as well as critiquing and evaluating digital texts and digital sources.


4.  By using the Google suite of applications, teachers can provide a digital forum where students receive relevant feedback from peers as well as teachers in a timely manner.  This feedback can be used by students during the learning process to improve their work, develop their ideas and more deeply think about their solutions.



John D. Bransford of Standford University wrote the following in his research paper titled, How People Learn; Brain, Mind, Experience and School:
"Cognitive research has shown that learning is most effective when four fundamental characteristics are present: (1) active engagement, (2) participation in groups, (3) frequent interaction and feedback, and (4) connections to real-world contexts."

I believe that our efforts to engage students in academics through the integration of technology has brought to the surface these four fundamental characteristics of effective learning.  While we will push to have the best and newest technologies in the hands of teachers and students, we will only do so when it improves the teaching and learning process. 




Link to previous BYOD and Going Google Posts:

http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/09/byod-day-1-of-many.html

http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/05/going-google-part-2.html

http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/01/being-creative-with-google.html

http://educreatechnics.blogspot.com/2015/03/google-classroom-part-1.html


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