Vision
Instructional technology is essential for students to use in the classroom to prepare them for the 21st Century that they live in. Teachers need to harness the power that 21st Century provides to enhance their learning. My vision for what classrooms should look like include strategies to empower students, improve their critical thinking skills, and creating authentic learning opportunities. It is imperative for students to be prepared “to thrive in a constantly evolving technological landscape” and teachers can do that by challenging them to be “innovative designers, computational thinkers, and global collaborator” to name a few of the many ISTE-Student standards (ISTE Standards for STUDENTS). I envision teachers being able to provide opportunities for student-centric models of learning and learning that is differentiated to meet the needs of each student. The students should be challenged in a variety of learning tasks that explore multiple levels of intelligence. Technology should be an enabler for deeper learning and connections outside the walls of the classroom. Teachers need to provide these opportunities for students. Students can take virtual field trips, collaborate with others from around the world, and even work to solve real-world problems. By creating these authentic learning opportunities, student achievement will continuously grow.
This vision of technology in P-12 schools consists of the teacher using a blended model in the face-to-face classrooms. It is important as a teacher to give students the opportunity to try new tools out in an environment that they can make mistakes and learn from them. Teachers also need to use technology, model how students should use it, and teach them how to troubleshoot. Technology is expanding in the world and these skills are becoming more and more a necessity. Through the use of technology, students can have an advantage for when they get into the real world. Using technology to simply recall information is not truly using technology to it’s fullest extent. Technology has the ability to track student data and using that information to inform instruction is invaluable. The data that instructional tools like learning management system give teachers and student immediate feedback that can be used to improve the next day’s instruction. According to Edutopia’s article, data needs to be utilized daily so teachers can meet the students where they are and use that as a launching off point to improve student achievement (Davis, 2017). This is where the shift of the use of instructional technology needs to change for the benefit of the students. Instructional technology holds various layers with each one giving students a new skill, a new opportunity, and a new future in the 21st Century that teachers can foster and develop as they prepare for the real world.
References:
Davis, J. (2017, September 22). 3 Ways Tech Integration Can Be Detrimental. Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/3-ways-tech-integration-can-be-detrimental
ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from http://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
This vision of technology in P-12 schools consists of the teacher using a blended model in the face-to-face classrooms. It is important as a teacher to give students the opportunity to try new tools out in an environment that they can make mistakes and learn from them. Teachers also need to use technology, model how students should use it, and teach them how to troubleshoot. Technology is expanding in the world and these skills are becoming more and more a necessity. Through the use of technology, students can have an advantage for when they get into the real world. Using technology to simply recall information is not truly using technology to it’s fullest extent. Technology has the ability to track student data and using that information to inform instruction is invaluable. The data that instructional tools like learning management system give teachers and student immediate feedback that can be used to improve the next day’s instruction. According to Edutopia’s article, data needs to be utilized daily so teachers can meet the students where they are and use that as a launching off point to improve student achievement (Davis, 2017). This is where the shift of the use of instructional technology needs to change for the benefit of the students. Instructional technology holds various layers with each one giving students a new skill, a new opportunity, and a new future in the 21st Century that teachers can foster and develop as they prepare for the real world.
References:
Davis, J. (2017, September 22). 3 Ways Tech Integration Can Be Detrimental. Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/3-ways-tech-integration-can-be-detrimental
ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from http://www.iste.org/standards/for-students