My Philosophy of Teachnology

Pre-EDU 210 I was highly skeptical about the

use of technology in the educational system

Post-EDU 210 I remain skeptical….. In some

cases my skepticism has been enhanced!

BUT…… I feel as though my skepticism is

now more well thought out Further, I have discovered many

uses of technology that I feel have potential. www.123rf.com 

By Ian Potts

What I’ve Learned In University

Devices in Classroom When I see students using laptop

in classroom it looks like…. …. “a sea of facebook” Really bad in EDU 210!

“Flipped Classroom” When no assessment, students

typically don’t do “out-of-classroom” learning

Screen Time I have to spend way more time in

front of screen than I would like Eye fatigue, too sedentary, affects

my mood negatively

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www.mosaclinic.com

What This Means For Secondary/Elementary

Devices In Class Only when explicitly necessary for a specific task

“Flipped Classroom” Assessable Components

Screen Time “Away from screen” assignments, both in and out of

class Make sure kids aren’t sitting still all day

“If Pre-service Teachers struggle to use technology responsibility, how can we really expect younger students to do any better?”

Possible Fixes:

Using Technology in UDL At first, I was a bit skeptical about using technology in

UDL. Upon reflection my opinion became more favorable – we just need need to be mindful!

PROS Can be transformative for students with certain special

needs E.g., voice synthesizers for non-verbal students

You are proactive, rather than retrofitting Makes special needs less “visible” to students

CONS Can be overly-compensatory

E.g., too reliant on spell-check May not be appropriate for all special needs

Students with ADHD may not need further distractions

m-Learning I will definitely avoid using

mobile devices in the classroom Students already spend too much

time in front of screens Can be too distracting (e.g., the

“sea of facebook” I saw in our EDU 210 classroom)

However, I still see some potential in m-learning Some awesome apps (e.g., nature

guides for field trips) Allows for students to work during

commute Tablets can reduce the need for

bulky textbooks www.edudemic.com

mnslis.wordpress.com

What I’ll Take Away From EDU 210

“If you’re going to use technology – make sure there’s a point.”

If everything you’re doing on a SMARTboard can be done on a whiteboard – why use it!

“Digital is not necessarily better.”I volunteer at a school for students with special needs –

some of the best uses of technology are low-tech

“Be Critical!”Always ask yourself “why you’re using technology?” and

“does it have any educational value?”