Technology is the Passenger Not the Driver

    I may be too old to be considered a "digital native," but technology has been a big part of my personal and professional life for many years. My digital footprint goes back to the explosion of the internet in the late 1990s. I began chatting online while still in high school thanks to my older brother introducing me to the world of Internet Relay Chat (IRC). In college, I earn a certification qualifying me teach computers to students from kindergarten to grade twelve and secured a job out of college as a "computer teacher". I am quickly identified as the teacher that knows "computer stuff" and have served as an instructional technology coach at my school formally and informally for years. I include none of this to profess to be an expert in technology in anyway, but instead to give you perspective for the rest of this entry. 

    Technology in education can open amazing doors for student learning. My classroom can connect with students in Hungary, Spain, and Sudan. Students can explore the landscape features using global mapping software, learn about industry, customs, and even speak with students in places that seem as different as they are distant. The way technology can bring people together still amazes me today. Technology can extend my reach as a teacher offering individualized instruction, differentiated instruction, repetition of content, and ways for students to authentically represent learning. The options are endless, but technology should not and can not be the driver of education. 

    When designing a lesson or lesson arc, planning should begin with the lesson objectives which are often prescribed by the state standards for content. Planning should continue by considering the needs of individual students and the class as a whole. What will my students need to be successful with this standard? It is only after considering the items above that digital instructional tools should be consider. The goal after all is learning not mastery of a specific technological tool. 

This article from the Brookings Institute supports the claims I have made. Click the link to read more about their work.

    As a dual language fifth grade teacher, I have had to readjust how I deliver instruction over the last year. All my instructional materials are posted on the district learning management system (LMS) so my face-to-face and virtual students have access to them. I have learned how integrate other tools into that LMS to support, but not drive the learning. Some of the tools have worked perfectly and will be part of my instruction even if the whole building is face-to-face. Other tools have been introduced and will never be used again because they weren't effective in increasing the learning of my students. Learning must remain the driver in my classroom and technology the passenger.