Karen Lirenman, a teacher from SD39 in Vancouver came in to talk to our class about the benefits of Ed Tech. I’ve outlined a summary of why she believes Ed Tech is beneficial:
- Allows access point to every learner
-Can read books online- one child can read a simple book while another child reads novel
-evens playing field
-Open ended
-Speech-to-text and text-to-speech
-Braille computers
-Drawing apps and photo apps (instead of writing)
-Different coloured backgrounds for vision problems (purple instead of white)
- Students show what they know in ways that work the best for them
–“Multi-tool screwdriver”: you can use whatever tool you need
-Open-ended apps: these apps allow your students to work with what works best for them
-Book Creator: book-making app. Students can make comics, illustrations, text, etc.
-Can be used anywhere from Kindergarten-Post Secondary
-“Students can work at the level that’s best for them”- we tend to forget about this sometimes
-Too powerful to be used for “drill and practice apps”, which have a negative impact on learning
-Use of technology for creation vs. consumption
-At home, a lot of students use their technology for consumption (Netlix, videogames, etc.)
-The power in technology is to use it for creation. Allow students to use technology in the way that is best for them.
-Creation and documentation of their own work
-Can add their voice to their work (i.e. take a photo of base ten blocks making 345 and explain their process with text. Can also record their voice and explain their process.
-In turn, you can leave the students voice feedback
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- Technology is a pretty safe tool
-Can safely use district computers/ipads/technology without worrying about where information is stored
-Need to be careful about where the app is storing information
-BC has tight privacy laws
-Have informed parental consent when doing special things online
-Have that conversation with students
-Who do you tell when you see something inappropriate
-As a teacher, model how you would handle this with your students
-For parents who don’t want portfolios, help educate
-Compromise: ex: add student work to portfolios without names, processing in a word document instead of a blog, private posts in a blog instead of public
-“Advocate, educate, accommodate”
-Never match faces with names on social media
-Options to blur faces on social media
-Get parent and student permission before posting their work
-There are ways to include students whose parents don’t want them in photos, for example, let that student take the photo, hide that student behind something in the photo
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- Allows you to connect learners with the world in many different ways
-Connecting students to the outside world
-Hashtags with questions- students can get responses from all over the world
-Twitter: easy place to get a global audience
-Skyping classmates who can’t make it into class for a group project
-Going to other sources for information: making connections to the greater world and seeking help
-Blogging: allows students to put out their thoughts to the greater world as well as read posts from around the world
-Be open to using the world as part of your classroom
I really like your take away of ed-tech being like a multi-tool screwdriver. Students can use whichever tool fits them best. You then also point out the creation vs consumption piece. We want to give students different ways to express themselves and find success, but we also don’t want to use ed-tech just for consumption purposes. Two very important points to consider with ed-tech!