I am currently a classroom teacher in a downtown elementary school in Vancouver. My school was an early adopter of technology, however, ten years later our modern school and its technology is slowly becoming obsolete. One of the roles I have taken on the last couple of years is a member of our technology team. We have been looking at what are the best investments, given our limited budget, for updating or refreshing our software, devices, and other hardware. One of our biggest challenges is balancing our needs with the centralized control of the apps and devices remotely from the school board.

As a classroom teacher I am generally looking at when is it best practice to incorporate technology into my lessons. I worry that students already have an enormous amount of screen time compared to prior generations. This isn’t to say that technology should be avoided, rather it should be incorporated when technology affords a unique and pedagogically sound option. I see technology as one part of an educator’s toolbox, which can help with differentiated learning, giving each student the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding in a unique and engaging way, while working at their appropriate level.

When choosing technology I generally look for ease of use, student interest, affordances, and the availability in the school or classroom. Our school has a classroom set of iPads that can be signed out and we have just purchased a small set of Microsoft Surface laptops. The iPads have proven to be an effective tool for research and work well for producing content through an app, however, they don’t offer much room for creativity beyond their apps. I also have an older iPad and an ancient laptop available in my room.

I don’t have a lot of experience with learning management systems beyond what I’ve used so far in the ETEC program. Some of the classrooms in my school use Moodle. I am interested in exploring if this would be useful for my students. I really like the idea of reducing paper and easy access for those who missed class or lost a handout. I am also curious about Google Classroom, however there may be privacy issues blocking its use in my school district. I plan to examine Eliademy for my first project. I hope that a deeper exploration of these options will help me to better serve the individual needs of my students while helping prepare them for the ever more connected future.