Technology in the classroom

Few classes have absolutely no technology needs. If your class is not included in that category, it's important you know how to choose the most appropriate technologies to assist you with teaching and and technologies that will assist your students with learning.

You should avoid the temptation to include technologies in your class just because they are available. Having an understanding of technology means knowing the difference between useful and useless.

All of us who attended school in the 1980s will have vivid memories of teachers who struggled to use the technologies of the era. Valianty they would soldier on trying to get a projector or VCR working properly, before the inevitable surrender where assistance would have to be sought from a student. Embarrassingly the student would often solve the problem instantly.

In these cases there may have been a legitimate need for using the technology, but the problem was the teachers didn't know how to use it. Their over-confidence created an awkward situation. Even worse the attempt to incorporate technology resulted in a lot of time being wasted that could have been dedicated to teaching and learning.

The takeaway points from this lesson are:

1. Don't use more technology than is required for the task
2. Make sure the technology you do use is appropriate for the task
3. Do your best to become familiar with the tech before using it in the classroom
4. Expect that your students may already have familiarity with the technology you are planning to use

Citations:

1. OECD (2018), Program for International Student Assessment
2. Pew Research Center (2020), Parenting Children in the Age of Screens
3. Walsh E & Walsh D (2019), "How Children Develop Empathy", Psychology Today