I'm a Teacher... How Can I Best Use Technology in the Classroom?
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Let Students Play! Maybe this isn’t the first implication you would expect to see for teachers. However, too often as teachers, we want to put something shiny on students’ desks, but then tell them not to touch it. This is arguably more distracting than allowing them to play for a few minutes. Taking this three or four minutes in the beginning of class to play will end up saving more wasted minutes during class where students would be distracted by playing with the software rather than working on the activity. So, let students play. Let students explore the technology and familiarize themselves with the different features of it. Let the newness of the software and the buttons wear off, so that students can use the program for its purposes during the lesson.
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Integrative Learning Does Not Mean Supplemental Learning Technology should be integrated into the lesson plan each day, rather than just be taken advantage of at random. Because of the variety of tasks that can be executed using technology, it appeals to multiple learning types. In one lesson, we can appeal to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. For example, kinesthetic learners will benefit from the interaction they get to have with the technology itself. We can incorporate sound and visuals through technology by using videos, graphics, or other tasks for the visual and auditory learners.
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By this being integrated into a lesson, a greater percentage of students will partake more actively in their learning process. When students engage in their learning, they are more likely to retain the material and desired outcomes are met more often. So, rather than using it at the end of a lesson or every now and then, it is important to use it as a means to the lesson, so that multiple learners are given the opportunity to invest in their learning.
Monitor, Monitor, Monitor It is imperative that we know what our students are up to when they are using technology. Computer access can lead to students visiting unauthorized websites on the internet and other programs that will inevitably get them off task and keep them from learning the material we are teaching. When computers are involved, we should walk around the classroom as we are guiding students through the lesson to make sure that each student is on task. Also, students may be on task but might be performing an activity incorrectly. This would lead them to inaccurate thinking about the material they are learning and so, we must make sure that each student is on the right track. As we walk around the classroom, we keep our students engaged properly in the activity.
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Expect Different Methods The beauty of technology is that it allows students to explore many different methods that might produce a correct solution to the problems they are learning. However, this means that we must be expectant of all the different ways students are going to address an activity. We must be flexible with the different methods students may choose to use, because some students will understand different approaches better. If the approach is accurate, it is accurate. The different methods will actually benefit the classroom as a whole, because students can present and explain the different methods to the class. This will show students that math is a holistic concept, just like the other academia they encounter and just like situations they face in real life. When there are multiple connections to a mathematical idea, there will most likely be multiple paths to that concept. For example, students may learn that there are a variety of correct ways to construct an isosceles triangle. This will help them understand triangles more conceptually. In order to be able to monitor these things effectively, we must know the software we are using. It is imperative that we are comfortable enough with the program in order to know the possible difference our students arrive at. Even if a student finds a seemingly random method to a construction or other problem, we must understand each step of the student’s process so that we can assess their work. So, we must monitor our students’ work, be flexible with differences, and be confident in our knowledge of the programs we use.
Scaffolding vs. Discovery Ideally, we would like to set up a classroom environment where students are able to explore geometric principles using technology and arrive at conclusions on their own. They might use Geometer’s Sketchpad and construct different figures that they are able to move and manipulate enough to discover particular concepts, like translations. Of course, it is our job as teachers to monitor their work and ask appropriate guiding questions that will help them land at the correct assumptions. Discovery learning allows students to engage completely with the material they are learning and builds conceptual framework around the processes they discover. However, it is time consuming and we all know that it isn’t always possible to provide this much time for the trial and error that students will surely encounter. Of course, this isn’t to say that there aren’t some days we do have this time. It is up to the teacher to decide how what they do and do not have time for that time. If there isn’t enough time for a discovery learning activity, it doesn’t mean that we exclude technology from our lesson. Instead, we might use technology to create a template that will guide students more in their thinking. This will cut down time spent on student errors and possibly confusion. Students should be engaging with the material with the guidance, just as they would with the discovery lesson.
Let Students Play!
Maybe this isn’t the first implication you would expect to see for teachers. However, too often as teachers, we want to put something shiny on students’ desks, but then tell them not to touch it. This is arguably more distracting than allowing them to play for a few minutes. Taking this three or four minutes in the beginning of class to play will end up saving more wasted minutes during class where students would be distracted by playing with the software rather than working on the activity. So, let students play. Let students explore the technology and familiarize themselves with the different features of it. Let the newness of the software and the buttons wear off, so that students can use the program for its purposes during the lesson.
Integrative Learning Does Not Mean Supplemental Learning
Technology should be integrated into the lesson plan each day, rather than just be taken advantage of at random. Because of the variety of tasks that can be executed using technology, it appeals to multiple learning types. In one lesson, we can appeal to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. For example, kinesthetic learners will benefit from the interaction they get to have with the technology itself. We can incorporate sound and visuals through technology by using videos, graphics,
or other tasks for the visual and auditory learners.
By this being integrated into a lesson, a greater percentage of students will partake more actively in their learning process. When students engage in their learning, they are more likely to retain the material and desired outcomes are met more often. So, rather than using it at the end of a lesson or every now and then, it is important to use it as a means to the lesson, so that multiple learners are given the opportunity to invest in their learning.
Monitor, Monitor, Monitor
It is imperative that we know what our students are up to when they are using technology. Computer access can lead to students visiting unauthorized websites on the internet and other programs that will inevitably get them off task and keep them from learning the material we are teaching. When computers are involved, we should walk around the classroom as we are guiding students through the lesson to make sure that each student is on task. Also, students may be on task but might be performing an activity incorrectly. This would lead them to inaccurate thinking about the material they are learning and so, we must make sure that each student is on the right track. As we walk around the classroom, we keep our students engaged properly in the activity.
Expect Different Methods
The beauty of technology is that it allows students to explore many different methods that might produce a correct solution to the problems they are learning. However, this means that we must be expectant of all the different ways students are going to address an activity. We must be flexible with the different methods students may choose to use, because some students will understand different approaches better. If the approach is accurate, it is accurate. The different methods will actually benefit the classroom as a whole, because students can present and explain the different methods to the class. This will show students that math is a holistic concept, just like the other academia they encounter and just like situations they face in real life. When there are multiple connections to a mathematical idea, there will most likely be multiple paths to that concept. For example, students may learn that there are a variety of correct ways to construct an isosceles triangle. This will help them understand triangles more conceptually. In order to be able to monitor these things effectively, we must know the software we are using. It is imperative that we are comfortable enough with the program in order to know the possible difference our students arrive at. Even if a student finds a seemingly random method to a construction or other problem, we must understand each step of the student’s process so that we can assess their work. So, we must monitor our students’ work, be flexible with differences, and be confident in our knowledge of the programs we use.
Scaffolding vs. Discovery
Ideally, we would like to set up a classroom environment where students are able to explore geometric principles using technology and arrive at conclusions on their own. They might use Geometer’s Sketchpad and construct different figures that they are able to move and manipulate enough to discover particular concepts, like translations. Of course, it is our job as teachers to monitor their work and ask appropriate guiding questions that will help them land at the correct assumptions. Discovery learning allows students to engage completely with the material they are learning and builds conceptual framework around the processes they discover. However, it is time consuming and we all know that it isn’t always possible to provide this much time for the trial and error that students will surely encounter. Of course, this isn’t to say that there aren’t some days we do have this time. It is up to the teacher to decide how what they do and do not have time for that time. If there isn’t enough time for a discovery learning activity, it doesn’t mean that we exclude technology from our lesson. Instead, we might use technology to create a template that will guide students more in their thinking. This will cut down time spent on student errors and possibly confusion. Students should be engaging with the material with the guidance, just as they would with the discovery lesson.