Looking back
Before EDTC 300, I was the type of person who romanticized “living in the moment” and not being on my phone. I avoided all the new social media platforms and apps being produced. As mentioned in lecture, social media has had more negative impacts on my mental health than positive. I felt like social media was consuming me, I was worried I was going to miss out on posts that I felt addicted to my phone; switching between each social media app and constantly refreshing my screen. Instagram was, and still is the social media app that I struggle with the most. I got so caught up in all the unrealistic expectations produced by the explore page and the posts I was seeing, I felt like my self-esteem was impacted to the point of feeling inadequate. Noticing this damaging affect of social media, I decided it was best to disconnect. Unfortunately, this lead to me have a poor view on technology all together. Because I needed to disconnect, I found myself completely avoiding new technology or even being interested in it.
New perspectives
Because of #EDTC300, my perspectives on the internet and social media have changed drastically. I no longer feel like I should have such a negative view point on technology and how it is constantly progressing. I have come to understand that if used the right way, technology is revolutionary, especially for education. Just from participating in a few live twitter chats like #sakedchat, I appreciate how effective technology can be in forming meaningful and healthy connections with fellow classmates and educators.
In his video, Michael Wesch stated “the internet is not just about information, it’s about linking people in ways we have never been linked before”. Wesch’s focus on the Numa Numa sensation and the connections that were created out of this participatory culture helped me realize the potential the internet has for me and my future students.
Technology in the classroom
Learning from my experience with social media, it is my goal to teach students how to use technology with intent. I think it is crucial to teach students to think critically about the reasons and ways they are using technology. Technology, like social media, can a great tool to connect with others around the world, but it can also be a damaging and hurtful space. To balance the challenges that arise with our new digital reality, I believe it is important to teach students both the positive and negative affects that come out of participating online, in order to guide them to be responsible technology users. To help balance the challenges, here’s a lesson from Amanda Brace to teach students about digital literacy.
In terms of classroom implications, there are endless opportunities to create more meaningful and enjoyable classroom experiences with the use of technology!
The students from EDTC 400 shared this document outlining some really great #edtech tools to use in the classroom.
Since assessment is at the heart of the teaching practice, here are 10 tech tools for student assessment.
If you would like to see how technology could be implemented to accommodate students with specific needs, check out Laura Fiddler’s blog post.
I have also created a “Teaching Resources” section on my blog that shares many other great #edtech tools and resources to check out.
Conclusion
Despite my negative experience with technology, specifically social media, I have learned that the internet can be a great resource for teachers and students, if used mindfully and with intent. Understanding that the internet can be a positive space to connect with and support others online is huge for the participatory culture we are apart of today. As future educators, it is our responsibility to teach students how to use technology with intent in order to guide students to be responsible citizens online. Thank you #EDTC300 for completely changing my perspectives on our new digital reality, as this not only benefits myself, but my future students.
What are your opinions on technology in the classroom? How will you use technology to benefit students learning experiences?