Technology Integration: Reinventing Instruction
With our current educational situation in such a state of uncertainty due to an outside force beyond the control of educators, technology tools and being able to share these resources with students in a meaningful way is a must. What was once a "fun" way to engage students in the classroom is now a required skill in order to ensure that students are able to access educational tools and instruction in a way that can be replicated whether in the physical school building or in their remote educational setting. Now more than ever, "with the ever increasing incorporation of technology tools in schools, the role of school librarians added technology integrationist to the role of the information specialist" (Wine, 2011, 209). We, as the future librarians, must continue to hone our skills of locating relevant tools, but also the communication and collaboration skills to share these valuable assets with the our colleagues and teachers. What is so important to remember is that these tools are meant to enhance and supplement instruction, not to replace it.
No one could have ever imagined how things would be when the state of South Carolina presented the 2014-2016 state technology plan that we would be relying on technology the way we are today. Looking at the date, I started to question what are the current technology plans for our state. I was able to locate our state's most recent technology plan, which I have provided the link to below. I was somewhat confused when trying to locate a plan between 2016 to 2020. It is obvious that planning was occurring 2019, but where is the plan in between? What is important to notice is that there is still a lag in providing the access to wi-fi for at home learning between the different districts, as most counties are autonomous in this area. Even with the rich resources in my current district, we were NOT prepared for the technology support services needed to support at home learning for all students. This was definitely an area that no one fully anticipated. What is interesting is how the new plan incorporates the Profile of the SC Graduate, which relies on a well rounded learner. School librarians are instrumental in assisting to provide the access and support to meet these goals.
2020-2024 South Carolina Educational Technology Plan
In trying to decide what area to focus on for my blog share, I went to my own recent need for technology. Not only did my district declare a mandatory Virtual Learning Day due to inclement weather, but then COVID struck home. During these unexpected absences, I depended on technology to reach my students to provide uninterrupted instruction. Technology tools and applications gave me the ability to "speak" with my students and allowed me to supply them the most engaging and meaningful instruction, even if I couldn't be there. So, while searching, I came across a FANTASTIC TedTalk from Salman Khan, the creator of Khan Academy (link below). His insight into how his tutorial videos have moved from helping his cousins, to YouTube viewers at home, and now to classrooms was amazing. The use of these technology instructional videos has been able to remove "the one-size fits all lecture from the classroom...[so] peers actually [are] able to interact with each other, [and] teachers have actually used technology to humanize in the classroom" (Khan, 2011). Khan's statement supports Wine's idea of building "a sense of community" when using technology (Wine, 2011, 207).
Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education | TedTalk Salman Khan
So, when selecting one area, I decided to focus on math. Even though Khan Academy has a plethora of resources for supplemental math instruction (along with many other core class topics), I wanted to select a source that wasn't so well known to me. Continuing my search lead me to a fantastic blog for middle school teachers. What first caught my eye was the link to Maneuvering the Middle: Classroom Technology With my focus being on locating math technology and blogs, I located multiple resources, but a "new to me" resource that I will apply in my 8th grade math resource class is Maneuvering the Middle: Desmos Activities to Try in Algebra. These tools focus more on upper middle and possibly high school level, but can be watched again and again for refreshers and before introducing new content. Being able to assign these resources, so when students come into the classroom hands-on instruction and interaction can occur. This allows not only students to interact with each other, but it allows teachers to have the ability to sit down with students in a more useful manner and build collaboration within their own "community" classrooms.
Pickering, Nicole (2021, July 21) . Student-Centered Math Lessons. Maneuvering the middle. https://www.maneuveringthemiddle.com/.
Wine, L. (2016). School librarians as
technology leaders: An evolution in practice. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. 57(2),
207-220.
I found your post really interesting and quite thought provoking. I did not know how Kahn Academy was created and I am always interested in learning more about people that are such forward thinkers. We have all learned so much about how technology can really enhance education and as you said, it's no longer just something fun. You have provided some great resources. I'll be bookmarking these.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
~Christine Betchman