Pedagogy before Technology

As a teacher in the 21st century, it's no surprise to me that technology is now at the forefront of education. While I was growing up, technology was a useful resource, but it was never promoted as something that would one day take over our lives. As I teach my students, I have to consider that their view of technology is definitely very different from mine. They have never known a world without an iPhone, a laptop, and some of them a tablet. While I remember the days of transitioning from an overhead projector in my classroom to a SmartBoard, my students can already figure out how to create a Google Slides presentation and share with everyone in the class. My students are more technologically literate than I was at their age, and can tend to trouble-shoot issues on the computer better than I can sometimes. There are of course a few negatives that tend to stem from them having open access to technology, like access to media that may not be appropriate for them, or even the fact that students tend to get more bored or distracted easily due to the instant gratification that they get from technology.

Since students now are more familiar with technology, it is being welcomed into the classrooms more. Many classrooms are looking to make students more comfortable and interested in learning and in order to do this they are embracing technology in the classroom. According to K-12 Blueprint, 46% of K-12 schools allow mobile devices in their classrooms. As teachers and librarians we need to start embracing the use of technology in our classrooms and teach students how to become more literate when accessing resources and media. It goes with the phrase, if you can't beat them, join them!

While I've gotten the chance to work with students in various age groups (kinder-4th grade), I still see analog learning as a necessity. When students are still so young and working to develop their fine-motor skills, it's important to view technology as a tool for learning. As students get older, I feel that the view may shift. Teachers who have students who have mastered using pencils and reading books can shift their view to seeing technology as a foundation for learning. It reminds of when students are in K-2 they are just learning how to read, but once they move to 3rd and beyond they are then reading to learn.

Librarians would need to consider educational technology when working with students for a multitude of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is because the library is a place that helps provide digital equity to students. While most districts are moving to 1:1 devices for students, some students still struggle to use those devices at home and face inequities. Librarians are now faced with being sensitive to students' needs and heling to "support students in meaningful ways" by seeking out opportunities to provide equity in their learning spaces (K12 Blueprint, 2021). By learning about the up and coming edtech tools, librarians can then be ahead of the curve when it comes to helping not only students, but teachers as well. Librarians are faced with being digital mentors among the entire school and it's very difficult to do if we are not open to learning about new tools and embracing the technology that is taking over.

By changing the technological landscape of our classrooms, our instruction is going to look a lot different. A big example that comes to mind is the fact that I currently work for a virtual elementary school. Where we would typically provide pencil and paper spelling tests, we have to rely on typing tests where spellcheck is allowed. We have to make adjustments to how we approach out students and keep in mind what is developmentally appropriate for them. While it's not perfect, we have begun to rely on tools like Nearpod, which offers a writing function, to help our younger students learn how to form letters because they may not have paper and pencils at home to write and submit a picture. While technology can pose some hurdles, it can also solve a few problems too. One of the greatest things that we need to adjust is the ways that we assess students' ability to complete activities in Blooms Taxonomy. Thankfully, it's recently been updated to include digital actions that fit our current needs and even embrace collaboration among students with more up to date media.

In the end, technology is always changing and it will be forever present in our lives and the lives of our students. We can either embrace it or fight it, and embracing it will allow the students to be more comfortable and experience equity the way they deserve.

References

Churches, A., & School, K. (2019). Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.

K-12 Blueprint. (2017, December 13). Active Learning Spaces. K-12 Blueprint. https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/active-learning-spaces

K12 Blueprint. (2021). What is Digital Equity in K-12 Schools? https://www.k12blueprint.com/sites/default/files/What%20is%20Digital%20Equity%20in%20K-12%20Schools.pdf