One of my biggest strengths in educational technology is my willingness to try unfamiliar programs or technology tools with my students. I am always looking for ways to meaningfully engage my students with technology as a tool for communicating their learning (Class Dojo) and presenting their information (iMovie, Google Apps for Education). 

There are many challenges when introducing new technology. Something I want to be more aware of is not pushing technology after technology onto my students, but rather taking some time to introduce safety for each technology introduced. I want my students to gain the skills necessary to carry them forward as digitally literate students. Time is also a big challenge when introducing new technology as there is one of me and 23 students all needing help at the same time, which eats up my time actually teaching them. I’m very thankful my school has access to classroom iPads, but they become old and unable to update so quickly. That is one barrier with iPads. They have a sort of ‘life-expectancy’ and stop updating Apps, which makes it frustrating for my students to try and operate. 

MediaSmarts is a fantastic resource I plan to utilize more with my students this year as I’m noticing them being more literate with Google Apps for Education compared to my class last year. I’ll be able to focus on developing their ability to gather, evaluate, and use information critically and efficiently. It would be helpful for the technology in schools to not become obsolete so quickly.

 

References:

MediaSmarts. (n.d.). Digital & media literacy fundamentals. Retrieved from http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals