According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): “Accomplished library media specialists provide consistent and visionary instructional leadership. Specialists are catalysts for purposeful change that engages and challenges students in uniquely meaningful ways and that places them at the center of the learning process.”
It is easy for professionals use excuses such as:
- The technology components don’t fit into my classroom schedule.
- I am already juggling too much, there are not enough hours in the day.
- I don’t have the time or energy to learn it or use it.
However, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach once said, “Teachers will not be replaced by technology, but teachers who don’t use technology will be replaced by those who do.” So let’s get with the program!
Evolving with Evidence is an article published by Knowledge Quest, the article details the application of technology to improve instructional practice. Topics discussed within the article include the rationale for rethinking the tools used by school library leaders in collecting evidence, the various digital tools that can be used to examine, analyze and share student work, and evidence-based practice as evidence of leadership. The article (2015) concludes that, “evidence informs our practice, helps us plan for program growth, and ensures that, indeed, learners are learning. It’s also about leadership. Careful use of selected emerging tools presents new models for teachers and students to leverage technology for their own collaboration and analysis. Innovative approaches to the gathering and analysis of evidence demonstrate the school librarian’s vision, accountability, and his or her professional leadership within the educational program.”
By now we should be aware that technology is everywhere, intertwined in almost every part of our cultures and communities. It affects how we live, how we work, how we play, and most importantly how we learn. With devices such as computers, laptops, and tablets becoming an increasing requirement across all industries, including schools and places of employment, it only makes sense that we begin to effectively use technology in our classrooms and school libraries.
Opting into Common Core is when technology in our classrooms became a requirement instead of a choice that each teacher or school librarian could make. Common Core insisted that for any student to be prepared for college and careers, they should be required to be digitally and technologically savvy. The Common Core standards themselves go into great detail about technology components, the importance of using technology, its fundamental nature as the bedrock of education, and the necessity to weave it throughout the academic fabric, regardless of the topic, skill, or requirement that is involved.
Jacqui Murray, a weekly contributor to TeachHUB, has been teaching K-8 technology for 15 years. She is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, creator of technology training, webmaster for six blogs, a tech expert columnist, and an editorial review board member for Journal for Computing Teachers. She provides us with 13 Reasons for Using Technology in the Classroom (2015):T
- Technology allows students to demonstrate independence. Technology provides numerous options for accomplishing goals. Teachers and school librarians should consider a book report delivered with Voki, Prezi, or Glogster, which are all web 2.0 tools for the 21st century learner. Students make a decision as to which approach is best suited to their communication and learning style and can use the tools to form interesting presentations.
- 2. Technology enables students to build strong content knowledge wherever they find it. It’s easy for students to pursue anything they’re curious about with technology. Classroom teachers and school librarians should make online dictionaries available so students can quickly look up unknown words. We should also be teaching students the tricks of quick and accurate online research. Genius Hour is often being added to the curriculum in a 21st century classroom. Genius Hour is a program where students follow school academic guidelines 80 percent of the time and get to follow their own passion for the remaining 20 percent.
3. Technology responds to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline. Teachers and librarians should decode this critical concept early in the education year. We should explain why audiences are different and how communication methods need to adapt to those differences in order to succeed. Students should be given the opportunity to pick what works, whether it’s audio, visual, textual, color/movement, or a mix of their own making.
4. Technology values evidence. With technology, students can click through to primary documents for evidence in support of their argument and push back if they don’t find those connections. Teaching students to read closely, think critically, and dig deeper is easier with technology.
5. Technology understands other perspectives. This can be done through conversation and class presentations, but doing it through blogging, comments, discussion boards (technology) is bigger and better. Plus, as students share their perspective, they can edit and rewrite to be sure the words fully reflect their ideas.
- Check out an exemplary list of class blogs from The Edublogger in order to see examples of what you can use in your own classroom or school library: GREAT CLASS BLOGS.
6. Technology differentiates for needs of students. Nothing does this better than technology. The creative student can use art and music. Those who love words can write. Visual learners can use a combination of color, images and personal drawings. The sky is truly the limit.
7. Technology deepens learning by using resources students are interested in. If we do our job well, students are inspired to learn more. They are eager to dig deeper into what has sparked their scholastic interest. If resources are only a click away, the chances of the task’s completion increase, and the activity itself may even become fun. Teachers and school librarians can share these enrichment materials with students through Google Apps for Education, they can post links through a class Internet page or Diigo account, and can create a playlist through programs like MentorMob.
- Diigo is like a bookshelf of your favorite books, each one marked with highlighted sections, comments in the margin, and sticky notes to remind you of and guide you towards important bits of information. It is a social bookmarking and annotation tool that school librarians, teachers, and students can use together to collect online resources, attach notes, and organize ideas. Diigo stands for “Digest for Internet Information, Groups, and Other Stuff.”
- MentorMob is an online learning platform that allows school librarians and teachers to organize websites, videos, blogs, and more into learning playlists that students can reference.
8. Common Core expects students to be active learners, authors, not just consumers. Technology makes that happen by asking them to publish, share, and collaborate.
9. Students want to use technology. When students use iPads, Chromebooks, laptops, widgets, online tools and a plethora of other digital devices, technology provides a path to learning that students are eager to follow.
10. Technology is its own assessment tool. To paraphrase James Paul Gee, a professor of literacy studies at Arizona State University: “When students use simulations, games, videos to learn, they have to problem-solve, critically think, transfer knowledge from other learning experiences.” That is a good thing!
11. Learning with technology is connected. In a connected, technology enriched environment, students engage with peers, celebrities, relatives and experts worldwide. They like to do that. That is why social media is popular and so viral.
12. Technology gives students an equal voice. Student value is in what they produce, not based on age or grade level. Their voices are important; they are listened to. If they publish an ebook, it is judged on the quality of writing, not their age.
13. Consider a video. For teaching, that is. Students can pause it, rewind, learn at their own pace. That’s technology. School librarians can use Vizia to add interactive elements to any educational video they find on YouTube or the like.
- Vizia can help increase engagement amongst students. Instead of passive students, you will have active students.
George Couros says, “Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers is transformational.” So let’s get with the program and implement technology tools and components into our 21st century schools and libraries!
Resources:
Byrne, R. (2019). Free Technology for Teachers. Byrne Instructional Media, LLC. Retrieved March, 2019 from: https://www.freetech4teachers.com/
Morris, K. (2018). 10 Examples of Great Class Blogs. The EduBlogger. Retrieved March, 2019 from: https://www.theedublogger.com/10-great-class-blogs/
Murray, J. (2015). 13 Reasons for Using Technology in the Classroom. TeachHUB. Retrieved March, 2019 from: http://www.teachhub.com/13-reasons-using-technology-classroom
Valenza, J.K. (2015). Evolving with Evidence. Knowledge Quest. Vol 43, Issue 3, pgs. 36-43. Retrieved March, 2019 from: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=f0d68ef8-bd6e-4aae-8933-55ccbfee4b5c%40sdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=100243693&db=eue
Swearingen the Librarian 