Teaching Technology

My two main questions when thinking about technology in schools are:

How is technology integrated into the classroom?

Where are we teaching students to be aware of technology?

As school is partially online and in person students are learning different skill about how to communicate with each other. Without knowing it, students are becoming more aware of how to write emails, how to talk “professionally” to a teacher or staff member and have to be motivated to show up to school each day. As time continues I believe we will see students who are extremely self-motivated but lack social abilities due to their time with online learning. Online learning can be amazing for some students but others have a hard time focusing and being able to learn online. 

Technology can be an amazing resource for teachers and students. If a child is non-verbal they are able to share their thoughts and feelings through a device, which in turn creates a stronger social bond with other students. Teachers are able to find and share different resources and activities with fellow teachers. Different activities and programs can help keep students engaged and interact with their learning. 

My biggest fear with technology being integrated into the classroom is it replacing actual teaching. As we discussed in class there are times when it is easier to teach with online websites and resources rather than having to create in person learning. 

The internet is not always a safe place and I believe students need to be aware of this but how is it going to be taught to students all over the province. 

• What is being taken out of the curriculum to fit more digital awareness?
• Is a new class being added?
• Are PAA courses being adapted?
• When are we going to start teaching digital understanding?

I think that all students should have access to technology at school to help strengthen their education but technology should not be used as a band-aid for issues within the teaching and school culture. Good teaching will always shine through, as well as poor teaching that uses technology to replace poor lessons.