Group items tagged

Technology Integration

Within this integration students and adults need to learn to be Digital Citizens.

What are lessons in education and the events of the world we live in? They are a series of problems requiring solutions.

Collaboration

This is how social media has become so popular and the way many companies now do business.

Problem Solving

Being able to collaborate with people is essential.

Self-Reflection

$500 from the school’s operating budget, the iPad is cheaper than a typical laptop, more portable, and, with its touch screen technology, easy to use.

Of course, with greater freedom comes greater responsibility. That’s why Trinity has developed a detailed policy, signed by student and parent, which explains how the iPad can be used. For example, the use of social networking sites is prohibited. Students may only access the Internet through a specific application that filters out inappropriate material. And the iPad must never be left unattended.

“Technology offers flexibility in scheduling and the ability to work anytime,”

Reluctant adopters

Enthusiastic adopters

Digital Natives fall into the following three major groups

Avoiders

Avoiders:

Minimalists

Enthusiastic participants

Avoiders:

this means changing the educational model to be more participatory and less passive.

Schools need to churn out students who are excited about learning and ready to thrive in the world as they meet it after high school. This means that students should be proficient in: Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, Powerpoint); they should know how to write a business-appropriate email (no texting abbreviations); when it is and is not appropriate to text; when to turn off their phones; how to handle security breaches online (in the forms of sexual pictures of self or friends, stolen identity, bad online reviews, etc.).

Teachers, when looking over your lesson plans, ask, “Can this lesson be executed without kids?”  I know this sounds laughable, but there are such lessons.  Take, for example, the following lesson: Teacher plans the lesson Teacher dictates expectations Teacher lectures Teacher tells students what to write down Teacher gives kids worksheets to do at home (maybe parents do them..?) Teacher grades all worksheets

We acknowledge and accept that anger when it appears.

Then we simply recognize that the anger is temporary.

A major element of the Framework for 21st Century Learning is the “ability to learn through digital means, such as social networking, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy, technological awareness, and simulation.”

Our digital and connected world calls for changes in how our children learn and how our teachers teach. We’re evolving from the “sage on the stage” model to one of coach and facilitator, and that’s a good thing.

I believe that the most effective educator is one who deeply understands the learner—where he or she is in the moment of their learning journey.