“Technology will not replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational” -George Couros
It is no secret that technology has evolved tremendously over the years. We are no longer confined to using just a calculator in math. The world of technology gives us a plethora of resources to use at our fingertips. According to McDaniel (2020), “technology is used for enrichment, extension, and extra practice of the content after teaching it directly to the students”. While technology can be transformational, it is important for students to understand the expectations for using the various resources available to them. The ISTE standards for students give them a voice and engage them in the technology driven world. Incorporating technology into content areas allows for great collaboration, creating digital citizens, designing, and computational thinking to take place. Merging math and technology together can elevate practices and engage students in meaningful learning. All seven of the ISTE standards can be put into practice within the math content area. According to Frazier and Hearrington (2017), “in order to bridge the gap for these standards it is important to make sure teachers are aware of these standards and are incorporating them in their planning, teaching, and evaluation processes” (p. 33).
Technology gives opportunities for students to be interactive and visualize math. Students need visual connections and to develop math intuition which is the ability to understand and gain perspective. Students also need to experience productive struggle and be able to not only problem solve but learn through problem solving. Planning tech-rich lessons allows “technology to provide additional opportunities for learners to see and interact with mathematical concepts” (Scharaldi, 2020). The pandemic taught us so much about virtual learning and using technology. Frazier and Hearrington (2017) argue, technology plays a very important role in “teaching, learning, communication, record keeping, and all aspects of the administration of any educational enterprise” (p.14).
A technology coordinator from another district discussed purchasing ViewSonic Interactive monitors for her math teachers. This will allow them to plot lines, see 3D shapes and so much more. This is just one of the many resources that can be used to help math be interactive and engaging. McDaniel (2020) states, “the way a teacher approaches using technology within their classroom can have an impact on student engagement and use the technology”. This is so true and why it is so important that we equip teachers with the necessary tools to be successful with implementing technology. If a teacher does not feel comfortable or supported then the effectiveness of the implementation will be lost. When teachers are given the proper tools it “can lead to students having a better understanding and grasp on the content as they work with the content in new interactive ways” (McDaniel, 2020). Teachers are utilizing technology now more than ever. This YouTube video shows a fifth grade teacher using technology to help engage her students and expand their depth of knowledge. It is encouraging to see how it can be used and how excited the students are.
The technology selection is abundant and we need to empower teachers to utilize it in content areas in order to be more effective and engaging. It is imperative that we as teachers teach students how to be not only consumers of the technology but effective producers as well. Teachers have the ability to transform content through interactive learning. Let’s meet students where they already are and utilize the digital world to help grow their knowledge.
References:
Common Sense Education. (2016). Tech-rich lesson plan in action: Elementary school math - metric
measurement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYr_0I3eGtE&t=245s
Frasier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). Technology coordinator’s handbook, 3rd edition (3rd ed.).
International Society for Technology in Education.
Giphy. Math Calculator GIF By Ewanjonesmorris.
https://media.giphy.com/media/l4Jz19hgVBnCCM8uY/giphy.gif
International Society for Technology in Education. (2022). ISTE standards for students. Retrieved from
https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students
McDaniel, J. W. (2020). Implementing personal devices in math. Networks: An Online Journal for
Teacher Research, 22(3).
Go Erica!!!!! I love that you're willing to provide that push that I think will be needed in order to get all teachers to buy in. My math teachers having always been the last ones to implement any type of technology in the classroom. As a former math teacher, I realize it is challenging to add in a technology component, but as you stated, we need to meet students where they are.
ReplyDeleteI also want to commend your knowledge and application of the use of the ISTE Standards. Our textbook even references that technology coordinators can use these as leverage to get teachers to use them in the classes. I know that I've pulled that a time or two! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your passion in this post. :)
Katie
References:
Fraizer, M. & Hearrington, D., (2017). Technology coordinators handbook (3rd ed.). International Society for Technology in Education.
Leon, J. J. C., Rodriguez, M. F. P., & Pozuelos, E. F. J. (2020) Building the role of ICT coordinators in primary schools: A typology based on task prioristisation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(3), 835-852.
Productive struggle - that is so important for kids to have the opportunity to struggle. Struggle is where the learning happens. In my classroom I tell my kids to help each other, but don't steal their struggle. Technology has a place in this problem solving/productive struggle that we are trying to expose students to. The "situation cognition" is an example of this, Frazier & Hearington, 2017 p. 55. This learning by doing leads to students having to struggle and then the learning follows. It is a different way to teach and is necessary to reach the students that are coming through school right now. Instead of teaching directly about everything they might possibly need, allow them to try and work out things within a community. This has also been looked at to teach computational thinking, Kafai & Proctor, 2021. I have seen it in my classroom in a coding game my students play called CodeSpark. The computational thinking that they learn by doing is amazing.
ReplyDeleteFrazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). In The Technology Coordinator's handbook. essay,
International Society for Technology in Education.
Kafai, Y. B., & Proctor, C. (2021). A Revaluation of Computational Thinking in K–12 Education:
Moving Toward Computational Literacies. Educational Researcher.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X211057904
Hi Erica! Your use of the quotation, “technology will not replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational,” resonated with me. In my work in prevention and support services, I am the credit recovery administrator and use Edgenuity to help our students recover missing credits. I dislike our current model because I simply assign courses, and students complete them in their free time.
ReplyDeleteI looked at a blended-learning credit recovery program where students recover missing credits through face-to-face learning and an online learning curriculum such as Edgenuity. I like the idea that teachers monitor the Edgenuity courses, oversee student progress, and provide help. I have proposed this idea to my principal to use our 21st CCLC as a credit recovery option. I hope to hear something soon about my proposal.
Eddy, C. (2013). The effectiveness of Edgenuity when used for credit recovery. Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The technology coordinator’s handbook (3rd ed.). International Society for Technology in Education.
Nice post Erica! The ISTE standards are important for the teacher and student. I read where you were quoted showing the importance for the students. You quoted, "While technology is transformational, it's important for students to understand the expectations for using the various resources available to them." I would like to add another quote from that same book showing the importance for a teacher.
ReplyDelete"As a technology coordinator, making sure that teachers are aware of these standards and are incorporating them in their planning, teaching, and evaluations process is very important" (Frazier, Hearrington, 2017, p33). There is tremendous dedication in trying“This month, we provide some scaffolding to help teachers align the ISTE standards to the example activities in our previous column" (Science, 2017).
References
Science 2.0: Align Your Curriculum With the ISTE Standards. (2017). The Science Teacher, 84(5),
8.
Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The technology coordinator’s handbook (3rd ed.).
International Society for Technology in Education.
Technology used effectively can be very transformative for students. Last summer I was able to purchase the Classroom Alive program for each of my Elementary Schools. This program uses a document camera and augmented reality to bring animals alive with letter cards. Students can work on sentence structure and spelling. The program pulls up a 3D version of the animal up and will run, eat, walk, and change colors depending on the sentence that is built, but it only works if it is a complete sentence. The PreK to 2nd grade students love it. The older kids love it too, even if the learning is a little below them.
ReplyDeleteI have seen plenty of the other direction too though. $3000 smart panels being used to replace a chalkboard or projector. Those are the times you want to just take over the lesson.