I had an opportunity to attend a presentation by Alan November on June 27th at Missouri Southern and came away with some new learning and insights into implementing technology into the classroom. The following statement that Mr. November said early on really set the tone for the entire presentation: “The most important skill when teaching technology to students is letting go.” This statement is very hard for teachers especially teachers with years of experience to hear. Thoughts of being replaced by a computer and not being in complete control race through our heads.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is true that students today have access to an endless amount of information thanks to the internet. However, students today also have access to an endless amount of misinformation thanks to the internet. “In the age of technology kids need more guidance than when paper was prevalent.” If you search “World War 2” on Google, 2.1 billion results appear in .23 seconds. Endless amounts of information right? However, research says that students only look at the first page of results when they search something on Google. This is why educators are and will always be relevant. Students today need guidance when researching information on the internet. All of our students know how to use Google but do they know what information is reliable? Our task as educators is to teach students how research properly and how to assess if the information they are obtaining is accurate and reliable.
Another question many of us ask is why is it our students are so fascinated by social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.? The answer is simple. “Students want to know what other students are doing.” Try starting off a lesson this year by showing your class what other students are doing and creating. Another instructional idea would be to have students share with the web what they are learning. This can be done by having them contribute to a classroom blog, compose tweets about what’s going on in the class or by having them create instructional videos. A few sites that feature student created tutorials are mathtrain.tv and clubacademia.org. As much as students what to know what other students are doing, students also want others to see what they are doing. Give your students a platform to share what they are learning and doing with others.
As a new school year approaches, take time and think about how you can better your instruction and student engagement through the use of technology. Also think about how you can provide guidance so that students can take a more constructivist approach to their learning.