Beyond Integration

So, you’re back in the swing of things in class.  Routines and procedures have been communicated and your class is rolling right along.  Now it is time to take a breath and think about how you can go about incorporating technology in more meaningful ways.  Here are a few tips that can help make sure the technology is truly enhancing the learning for your students. It is important to remember that your goals for what students should be doing in your content area is not the goal - the goal remains focused on the learning objective of your lesson.  That being said, appropriately placed technology in a lesson can highlight the learning in new ways, making it more interesting or accessible for students. Often times, looking at the wording of the standard, indicator, or learning objective can be a great approach to choosing the appropriate technologies for student work.  Take a look at the following example: The following is a South Carolina College and Career Ready standard for ma

Who is responsible for teaching Digital Citizenship? We all are: educators, parents, Administrators and Instructional Coaches. We all live in this interconnected digital world and must teach, model and talk with our students about what is safe, legal and ethical when it comes to using computing devices. We can no longer assume that someone else will cover digital citizenship. We all need to become proactive and embrace the skills on a daily basis. It's never too early or too late for teachers to embed this in their content. Kids as young as first grade or as old as 12th grade can benefit from these practices. Rather than teaching digital literacy concepts in isolation there are a few ways you can embed these skills into your content. Model the process. While you are discussing facts about the Reconstruction Period, Genetic diseases or the history of a mathematical formula conduct a brief research with your students and talk through the process. When you are post o

Why is it important that our student see themselves as Citizens of the World rather than citizens of Columbia, SC?   On September 21st, students all over the world will engage in Global Collaboration Day.  The hope is that during this day: Students will understand the power of global connectivity in classrooms, schools, institutions of informal learning and universities around the world; Students can experience collaborative tools, resources, and projects that are available in today’s classrooms; Teachers focus attention on the need for developing globally competent students and teachers throughout the world. This blogpost will provide you some ideas on how to connect globally.   First, check this website out for many resources that range from global digital citizenship to project examples.  To receive full access to a host of events and information, register here. Classrooms on the East coast of the US can participate with http://www.global-classrooms.org/ .   Here

Integrating technology into your instruction offers lots of exciting opportunities for both teachers and students. Ensuring that all the students are prepared to learn with a working device is important for these lessons. Though the ultimate responsibility lies with the student to take care of their Chromebooks responsibly, teachers can help emphasize how best to handle the devices. Teachers can model behaviors for students .  Students watch and look up to  teachers.  If teachers carry devices properly (closed with two hands), students will be more likely to follow suit. Use a case, every time.  Students should be in the habit of moving around the school with their device in a case.  When students stick to the routine every time , accidents are less likely to happen.  When students leave the classroom with their devices to go to other classes, see the Technology and Learning Coach, or visit the library, require that they use a case.   Engage students in a conversation about w

As you build your culture in your classroom with your students, take a moment to think about how you will build a safe digital learning environment. It is critical you start from day 1 and stay consistent with the procedures you establish. Let’s review some tips that teachers have used in the past. Keep Learning First When you are designing your lesson or unit, keep the learning goals and outcomes at the forefront of the planning. If it’s determined that technology will be a tool to use, be sure it aligns with those predetermined standards, learning goals and the skills your students will be using during the application. The TPACK framework can give you more information and guidelines when designing your lesson. Technology can enhance direct instruction . Technology is a learning tool that should also engage the student in the learning. There are ways that you can engage them during direct instruction through sharing the presentation using Pear Deck or having conversat