Digital technology can be used in a variety of ways to support and enhance student learning, especially if it is utilized in a meaningful way and not just as an add on to a regular lesson. Having said that, there are many teachers who have difficulty figuring out how to use technology to enhance learning and not use it just for the sake of using it because it is there, or is the most recent initiative from our Board. There is still quite a notion that using computers in the classroom is only for playing games. \u00a0Although it can be viewed and used as a time filler, most digital technology is much more than that.<\/p>\n
In order for digital technology to be effective it must focus on the concepts that are being taught in the classroom to build accurate understanding and reinforce learning outcomes. Depending on the purpose of the technology, it can be used as a way to activate prior knowledge with a quick minds on activity, or it could be used more fully as an introduction to a new topic. This could be accomplished with a variety of games sites, but it could also include a video clip, a song, a 3D model of something which could be manipulated to show different perspectives and aspects of the model, it could provide an interactive task such as dissecting a frog, or exploring an animal cell to engage and intrigue students.<\/p>\n
Digital technology is a great way to differentiate instruction levels and abilities for different students. Many programs offer the ability to tailor questions or tasks to specific students. One math program that does this is Prodigy, which allows you to choose the grade, the strand of math, the specific concept, and the students to whom you are assigning the tasks. You could do the whole class on the same level, or you could assign different grade levels of the same concept for students with an IEP or who may be struggling and need more practice at a lower level. Technology also allows students to present their learning and understanding in different ways. Those who may not be comfortable presenting in front of the class could create a video presentation and have the class view that instead.<\/p>\n
Good digital technology is user friendly, easy to navigate, and accessible in more than one place or format. I know my students appreciate Google classroom and Edmodo where they can find their assignments on any device and can access them without having to be in the classroom. No more lugging heavy text books, or papers that are easily lost in the black hole of their backpacks.<\/p>\n
I think that our biggest hurdle as educators in this digital age is to teach our students how to use the technology responsibly and effectively. This is difficult as students still see technology as something special in the classroom because of the availability constraints. It would be much easier to integrate digital technology seamlessly and effectively in the classroom if each student was equipped with their own device in a 1:1 classroom.<\/p>\n
Anne<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Digital technology can be used in a variety of ways to support and enhance student learning, especially if it is utilized in a meaningful way and not just as an add on to a regular lesson. Having said that, there are many teachers who have difficulty figuring out how to use technology to enhance learning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25997,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1669385],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-unpacking-assumptions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25997"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":972,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/stem2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}