Technology Reflection
This standard deals with the successful use of technology in the classroom. Teachers should use technology as a tool for learning and communicating and for adapting instructions to individual learners needs. Technology is abundantly present in every aspect of our life and our student’s life and we need to incorporate it in the classroom in a way that benefits the students in their development and acquisition of new content.
First and foremost, teachers should be actively receptive when being shown a new piece of technology that has the potential of being incorporated into their classroom. They should also look for ways to use technology that would benefit their students. For example, incorporating Kahoots to do a quick review on what students should know by that point in the class or in the semester gives the teachers an opportunity to assess informally and in a way that the kids enjoy. Kahoot is also interactive and holds a great combination of collective and individualistic qualities. By this I mean the students are individually ‘competing’ and have their own nicknames on the screen, but the class is working together as a whole to see what they know.
Teachers should also use technology to positively communicate with the parents and families of their students. This could mean a newsletter, emailing, creating a website platform where all assignments can also be accessed online, etc. Emailing seems to be the most popular medium for communicating with the guardians of students but if the teacher wants to have a more of a relationship with them, there are options available and an internet that provides endless ways to be creative and communicative.
Teachers should also use technology for their own planning and gathering of resources. Some school systems offer platforms that offer such organization for the teacher, but often times they do not. Teachers could create a website for themselves or use Google Docs to keep all of their materials and adaptations from year to year as well as notes on what worked and what didn't. A bank of resources, whether collaborative or individual, can be made also within Google Docs or platforms such as Notion. Foreign language teachers using these platforms to keep track of all of their resources is particularly important since native resources that perfectly fit into whatever lesson is being planned are at times difficult to find. Creating a Facebook group with other foreign language teachers could also be beneficial in sharing what resources have been found and how teachers used them.
Most importantly, however, teachers need to see the involvement of technology in the classroom as an interesting and creative challenge, not a hindrance. Technology, when used correctly, can show students that for as much as we see social media and technology negatively affecting our lives, it can also enrich our lives and, more specifically, enrich their learning inside your classroom.
First and foremost, teachers should be actively receptive when being shown a new piece of technology that has the potential of being incorporated into their classroom. They should also look for ways to use technology that would benefit their students. For example, incorporating Kahoots to do a quick review on what students should know by that point in the class or in the semester gives the teachers an opportunity to assess informally and in a way that the kids enjoy. Kahoot is also interactive and holds a great combination of collective and individualistic qualities. By this I mean the students are individually ‘competing’ and have their own nicknames on the screen, but the class is working together as a whole to see what they know.
Teachers should also use technology to positively communicate with the parents and families of their students. This could mean a newsletter, emailing, creating a website platform where all assignments can also be accessed online, etc. Emailing seems to be the most popular medium for communicating with the guardians of students but if the teacher wants to have a more of a relationship with them, there are options available and an internet that provides endless ways to be creative and communicative.
Teachers should also use technology for their own planning and gathering of resources. Some school systems offer platforms that offer such organization for the teacher, but often times they do not. Teachers could create a website for themselves or use Google Docs to keep all of their materials and adaptations from year to year as well as notes on what worked and what didn't. A bank of resources, whether collaborative or individual, can be made also within Google Docs or platforms such as Notion. Foreign language teachers using these platforms to keep track of all of their resources is particularly important since native resources that perfectly fit into whatever lesson is being planned are at times difficult to find. Creating a Facebook group with other foreign language teachers could also be beneficial in sharing what resources have been found and how teachers used them.
Most importantly, however, teachers need to see the involvement of technology in the classroom as an interesting and creative challenge, not a hindrance. Technology, when used correctly, can show students that for as much as we see social media and technology negatively affecting our lives, it can also enrich our lives and, more specifically, enrich their learning inside your classroom.
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