Technology and Inquiry in the Primary Grades + My Reflection
For my Final Vision project, I researched the topic that I mentioned in Reading Assignment Part A because I was still curious and wanted to find out more about it. I wondered how to prepare primary students to be 21st century literate and be proficient in technology while engaging them in inquiry-based learning. Inquiry-based learning requires students to search for information and solutions to their questions but how do students who are beginning to read and write do that? How do students with developing fine-motor skills operate a computer and browse the Internet? Originally, I was going to write a paper but I made a presentation in Google Slides instead because I would be able to embed videos to provide examples of my findings. I also enjoyed making this presentation and maybe one day I will present this to inspire other teachers who are stumped about how to engage primary students in inquiry-based learning with technology integration.
My Vision of the Future:
My Reflection
Although I already knew that technology was in important aspect of student learning, I was definitely a bit hesitant. Technology exposes students to the whole wide world which can be dangerous and frightening at times. After reading Why School by Will Richardson (2012), this made me realize that technology is everywhere and many students, even primary students, are already exposed and using the Internet and other devices. This is unavoidable. Using technology for learning now is inevitably important but it is my duty as an educator to inform them of digital literacy and using these tools responsibly and respectfully. Teacher-librarians are also a good source for assisting students with technology and online behaviours. Through reading the book and engaging in my Vision of the Future inquiry project, I have become inspired to take what I have learned and apply it into my classroom. There are many benefits to this and many students will be engaged and motivated to learn. As an educator, I am hesitant to use technology in my teaching but I have learned that we are not expected to know everything and it is more beneficial for students to see that we are learning with them (MacDonald, 2019).
My Vision of the Future project was a chance for me to familiarize myself with how to incorporate technology in a primary class as I have mostly taught students from kindergarten to grade 3. Admittedly, I have tried to avoid using technology for students in kindergarten and grade 1 because their fine-motor skills are still developing and who knows what they could do to these expensive devices? My Vision Project allowed me to explore several classrooms that have successfully integrated technology and inquiry into a primary class. Students even in kindergarten were able to create intricate projects with computers and iPads (Cowdy, 2011). Perhaps, my hesitation to incorporate technology in primary classes was more so that I was nervous and unsure about how to deliver it and not because I was concerned about student’s skills. I am glad to have taken this course because this course allowed me to further investigate this concern that I had and it also allowed me to go on Twitter. Using Twitter and seeking other blogs to find resources became a valuable strategy to me. I never thought of using Twitter to look for teaching resources and advice but this was the platform that first showed me an example of a young class using technology. I will definitely keep Twitter in mind when I need to reach out to the teaching community for support.
I look forward to sharing my discoveries with my teacher colleagues because I think this would be valuable to our student’s future. Learning happens, “anytime, anywhere” so it is important for us to prepare our students with these skills regardless of their age and abilities (Richardson, 2012).
References
Cowdy, Tasha. (2011, June 3). Integrating technology in a Kindergarten classroom. [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/24640792
MacDonald, K. (2019). Meaningful Use of Technology in Ontario’s Kindergarten Classrooms. Technology and the Curriculum: Summer 2019.
Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. [E-book] TED Talks.