Day Two - New Technology

Prompt:  Write about one piece of technology that you would like to try this year, and why.  You might also want to write about what you're hoping to see out of this edtech integration.


I've decided that I'm going to use a loophole to this prompt ... only because I have two specific pieces of tech to talk about, but one of them is actually another attempt at trying a particular tool again.  Here it goes ...


My New Tech for the Year - SCHOOLOGY

I actually came across this on Tumblr one day this past summer.  A fellow teacher posted a screenshot of her Schoology homepage and discussed how this site really made it easier for her to collectively provide resources and course content to her students.  Her approach to this learning platform really piqued my interest, so of course, I set up an account to see what it was all about.  Boy was I excited to see how this particular platform really could be used in my course.  I was hooked; therefore I found a learning platform to try out for the new school year.

This past week was the first week of school for our district, and I made an effort to talk up the program before the students actually sat in front of a computer in the lab and logged on.  Some sections had already logged on in the BIM (computer) class, but were new to the set-up I had created for our particular course.  (Side Note:  I mentioned this site to other teachers at a Curriculum Integration PD, and they were willing to try it out with me this year ... so YAY to us!)

Not going to lie, I was concerned that the students were not going to like the learning platform, but lo and behold they liked it (like REALLY liked it).  I overheard students talking about how it was user friendly, or how it kind of reminded them of FaceBook; and still, others were talking about how it made their lives easier because they could access everything we were doing in class at home.  I was truly in awe of how willing the students were to start on-line discussions via this platform.  As a class, we discussed the importance of thinking critically so as to fully understand a situation in a rational sense, as opposed to jumping to conclusions.  This site allows students to hold on-line discussions amongst themselves on topics that I can introduce.  Also, as a teacher, I can choose to moderate their posts if it does get out of hand.

This learning platform has really superseded all the expectations that I had going into the school year, but more importantly, it has my students excited about the school year.  They can see how they will be able to collaboratively work on PBLs and on-line discussions.  The students are actually buzzing about working on their first discussion, because it's something they never had an opportunity to do in the classroom.  I can't believe that there was such a positive response, but then again, that's what happens when something just works!


My Tech Redo for the Year - Social Media

Social Media - the bane of every teacher's existence ... not really for this teacher.  Yes, at times I find myself having to remind a student that there is no need to check their social media accounts, because their friends are not allowed to use their electronic devices like them.  But, I truly think that this is a way for teachers to meet their students halfway.  If we really want to reach out to our students, we should be willing to think of exciting ways to present it to them.  So, last year I decided to take the plunge and create class accounts for Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

Well, the accounts were created and then NOTHING!  I was so consumed with content and grading and yada yada yada, that I never updated.  Seriously, there is only one picture on our class Instagram page that I uploaded over 13 months ago.  My Twitter page went from class material to my personal PD, and I'm not going to even mention Tumblr (I don't even remember the login info).  So, it's pretty clear that this area of tech integration was a complete disaster last year.

This year I've decided to take another stab at social media.  I've created separate Twitter accounts for my school side - one for PD and the other for my students.  I'm constantly on my PD site, but I constantly have to remind myself to update our class account.  It's just going to take a lot of practice.  As for Instagram, I've already discussed with my classes that I'll be allowing different students the opportunity to use the school's iPad to take candid shots of their different groups when we hit the ground running with our PBLs.  As for Tumblr, I'm going to let that stay dead, because most of my students do not have a clue what it is at the moment.


Here's hoping that technology can be fully integrated into the course, and more importantly, that students don't just USE technology but INTEGRATE it into their daily lives.

-A