Society has become incredibly dependent on technology so it shouldn't shock us to realize that educators look to employ technological tools in the classroom. From online classrooms to social media, public and private schools alike have been utilizing technology to enhance student learning. However, it's important for me and all of my colleagues to remember that technology should not replace authentic instruction and facilitation but rather should supplement. With the continuous change and improvement of technology it's easy for us to get caught up in bringing in the new "thing".
I would argue that we need to pick one or two technological domains to implement in our classrooms. This will avoid confusion for our students and allow us to truly dig deep into what it means to employ that technological device to supplement student learning. For me, this means online collaboration, online audio/visual lectures, and audio recording comments or lectures.
With online collaboration, students are able to synchronously utilize tools such as GoogleDocs or Wikis to brainstorm ideas, comment on tough readings, share examples, and co-author documents. This list of items to collaborate on goes on and on but using an online platform allows students to collaborate with each other at any time and at any location. To see how I collaborate with my students using Google, watch the video below.
Another way that I extend the traditional classroom is through online audio/visual lectures. In this case, I create and record traditional lectures utilizing screencasting software. These lectures are typically explanatory videos. This may be how-to for online conferences or explanations of writing assignments. See a sample of my online audio/visual lectures below.
In a similar way, audio comments and lectures allow me as the teacher to be present with my students at a time that is convenient for them. While I don't see this an out for in-class person-to-person interaction, I do see it as a way for me to further my instruction with the students. It gives me an opportunity to expand on ideas that I may not have had time to elaborate on in class or answer student questions that have been emailed to me. Specifically, it affords me the opportunity to explain to each student comments and concerns regarding their essays. Students have found these audio comments to be more informative since they can pick up on the teacher's intonation. In other words, there is less to be lost in translation. Because the students know the voice on the other end of the MP3, it's not a disembodied voice. It's the voice of the teacher they know and trust.
Technology should allow us as teachers to reach our students on a different level, to add to and enhance our students' learning. If we can implement technology in this way, students will become more literate in these forums and the learning will surpass the content of the class. The learning will continue and evolve alongside the technology that we are so incredibly dependent upon.
Podcast: http://mkerby.podbean.com/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/niu-fycomp-103g36/id722630352?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4