In collaborating with colleagues on starting to integrate technology, I have heard myself saying the same line several times “It’s not about the tool!”  Meaning, connecting technology-rich, engaging lessons into one’s classroom isn’t about providing a “Wow” factor experience for students.  Technology integration should start with focusing on what it is that you want to accomplish with your students.

I have had several conversations with colleagues lately about this sort an approach and they all seem to struggle with the same issue…they are teachers who truly want to provide meaningful use of technology, but don’t know where to begin.  They attend workshops on wikis, blogs, smartboards, etc…but, walk away with a sort empty Wow factor.  It’s a cool tool, but how would I actually use it in my classroom?

As an educator striving to integrate 21st century learning practices with technology into my teaching in meaningful and seamless ways, I am continually reflecting on what works with my students and what does not.  One of the biggest hurdles I faced was, where does one begin?

In reflecting on what works for me, I decided to put together a 5-step approach that helped me get started, stay focused of my goal with my students, and stick with my goal of connecting technology to meaningful learning for my students.  Below is a Voicethread outlining this 5-step approach:

5 Steps to Using Technology to Engage Learners and Enhance Teaching

If you haven’t yet watched the much talked about TED talk “Are Schools Killing Creativity” it is a must see. I first watched it over a year ago and recently watched it again. It raised some new questions and thoughts about the hierarchy of education today and how can we begin to shift 20th century thinking in schools to support 21st century skills such as creativity?

The video brought to mind a few questions…

Are schools educating through an outdated value system?
Sir Ken Robinson talks about the current hierarchy in education based on a value system put into place during the industrial revolution. Disciplines that were necessary to learn skills to be successful in the work force were given the most importance such as science, math, and humanities. It seems today, we are still educating through a system that upholds the same hierarchy, even when the workforce of today requires a completely new set of skills that aren’t fully learned through these disciplines: problem solving, collaboration, innovation, synthesis of information,…and the list goes on.  Why haven’t schools kept up?

What role does “assessment” and standardized tests play?
If what we are teaching neither keeps up with skills necessary for our students to be successful in the workforce nor does it meet their variety of learning styles, how can we be assessing the right things? We need to reassess what we place importance on and will make students successful in an ever-changing world/work place.

How do we foster creative thinking?
Before discussing how schools can foster creativity, I think it is important to point out the difference between creative thinking and critical thinking. Being an art teacher for 11 years and being a practicing artist, I have often thought about whether “creativity” can be taught or whether it is an innate quality that some individuals simply possess more than others. “Creativity” is often defined with a skill set that which describes “critical” thinking: analyzing, synthesizing, problem-solving. I find creative thinking to be more of a self directed free thinking that includes innovation, discovery, experimentation, and new application that are uniquely their own but include the processes of critical thinking. As educators we can foster creative thinking by structuring learning environments that encourage it, but I believe it comes from within the individual learner vs. an input of skills learned from the educator.

A thought-provoking video indeed, one that each time I watch brings to light the need for a major shift in the way we approach education.

I have recently read several articles on differentiation through use of technology. The various articles led me to reflection on use of technology with my students and whether or not it is a direct means to differentiation.  

We use technology in my classroom daily. However, a student’s access to technology does not automatically equal learning with technology. Learning with technology, like any educational tool, is the result of consideration for student’s various learning levels, learning styles, and the enduring understandings you wish for them to gain through a lesson. In reflecting on use of technology with my students, I have found 3 ways that I achieve differentiation…

1) Using technology to reach various learning styles:

In some cases, reaching various learning styles is a direct benefit of technology tools specifically designed to make learning easier and better for everyone.

Interactive white boards: engage visual learners, auditory learners, and bodily-kinesthetic learners when used with embedded media that is interactive and allows students to engage in manipulative activities on the board.  *Don’t have an interactive white board?  Read here to find out how you can make one for under $50…Ted Talks-Johnny Lee Wii Remote Hacks

Digital document cameras: benefit and engage all students by enlarging a live demonstration 20-30 times larger than real life. Instead of students crowding around a table trying to see a teacher demonstration, students can benefit from guided instruction from a large screen live projection while following along from their desks or work stations.  

2) Using Technology to reach varied learning levels:

In the same way that using technology does not equal learning with technology, using technology does not equal differentiation through technology. Equipping oneself as an educator with a variety of tools and literacy’s that will help students learn better and knowing which ones might be appropriate for a specific student is what makes differentiation work. The same goes for differentiation with technology.

-Pacing: Web based tools such as Moodle & Google Docs can allow students to access instruction both in and out of class to learn through them at their own pace. 

-Guided Choice: Social bookmarking tools such as Delicious are great for creating groups of resources based on tags. You can set up an account and tag specific websites based on topics you are studying in class. This can also be done through a host application such as Moodle, Google Docs, or a class website through which you provide a variety of links. Another way I provide choice is by allowing students to a choice of media when creating a reflections.  I allow them to choose from a variety of computer based applications such as Microsoft suite, iMovie, and Garage Band (Audacity is a free equivalent to Garage Band). I love the variety and creativity that comes out of these choices. 

3) Filling the teacher “tech”box:

There is much discussion about “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) and how we as educators must teach them in their own language.  21st century learning initiatives encourage a new set of skills necessary for students to succeed which are vastly different from that of just a few decades ago when some of us might remember the first time we ever used a computer or heard of the internet. Students today are growing up having never known life without them.

To meet these needs and teach our students using tools that are part of their everyday digital world, we as educators must be filling our own toolbox of technology. There is no one size fits all to student learning. Having knowledge and familiarity with a variety of technologies and pairing them to individual students to help them learn better just might be the best form of differentiation using technology. *Please visit the website “Teach with Technology” for ideas on integrating technology into your classroom.