I describe the use of technology in my classroom as a “creative repurposing,’ which is an idea described by Matthew Koehler and Punya Mishra as teachers constantly taking material or ideas and tweaking (or re-purposing them) for their classroom (2009). This is the backbone of the technology use in my classroom- I am a firm believer that technology is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach within the classroom, and each technology tool must be carefully considered before implementing it.
Does that mean I never take risks? No, of course not. There certainly have been times that I have used technology with my students simply because it is AWESOME, but that doesn’t mean that they still weren’t learning from it. In my opinion, technology in the classroom is meant to enhance student learning. That to me encompasses ALL of student learning, not just content knowledge. While some technology in the classroom might help my students grasp concepts better, like utilizing Sphero robots to apply their coordinate graphing skills to real life, some technology also can help students develop 21st-century skills. My goal for my students is that they leave my classroom being better-prepared citizens, and technology can certainly help them do that. For example, certain technologies like BreakoutEDU or Digital Breakouts build my students’ critical thinking skills. Listening to my kids collaborate with each other while they problem-solve might not always show me their content area understanding, but it shows me exactly what I need to know about their critical thinking & collaborative skills.
I believe that the best way to develop authentic learning experiences for my students is to incorporate their passions into our classroom. Using what my students love on a daily basis has shown to make my lessons more engaging for my students and creates a more authentic learning experience overall.
For example, my class last year had an obsession with learning about World War II after reading many of Alan Gratz’s novels. We also had happened to be in the middle of our informational reading unit, so one of the things that we did was select a read-aloud that was a WWII text written by Alan Gratz. My students were THRILLED! This became our mentor text that we used throughout the unit, which I whole-heartedly believe made my students much more engaged in the lessons. I also found an opportunity via Skype in the Classroom for us to virtually visit the WWII Museum, where we tied in learning about primary & secondary sources. Again, my students were engaged- they were asking questions throughout the entire trip.
Aside from virtual field trips, another way that I believe in developing authentic learning experiences for my students is to incorporate real-world tasks as much as possible. For example, my students learned how to code a Sphero robot to travel to coordinate graph points during a lesson on coordinate graphing. Instead of just graphing on paper, this allowed students to not only physically practice the skill but also experience how graphing can be used in real life.
If there has been one thing that I have learned in my 7 years as a teacher, it is that there is a constant need for me to easily adapt to a multitude of situations. Whether it be a new group of students each year, a change in school districts, or even a pandemic, I view active learning as an educator to be essential in order to meet the needs of both my students and myself as an educator.
In my opinion, one of the most valuable learning outlets for me is social media. Twitter, for example, is something that I use daily. Having the ability to connect with educators that are all over the state of Michigan and the world has helped me bring new books into my classroom, introduce my students to new technology, and most recently given me the ideas and strength to navigate teaching during a pandemic. I also feel that sharing my knowledge with others is extremely valuable for me as an educator as well because that allows me to receive feedback from education professionals that otherwise might not have had the chance to ever set foot in my classroom. Instagram and YouTube have been other outlets that I have turned to for improving my teaching practice as well, whether it be to help me better prepare to teach the Civil Rights Movement or learning how to use tools to help my students collaborate in Zoom breakout rooms.