As a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school we are in our
second year of working to further implement technology in the classroom from
the student perspective. Meeting the students where they are allows us to
empower them to use their devices when academically appropriate. Today I visited several classrooms and among those
classes I was able to visit two of our elective or non-core areas: vocal music
and physical education. What I was able to witness was “the magic of technology integration”.
As I walked past the first choir room door I noticed the
students sitting on the choir risers and as I entered the classroom our choir
teacher was talking to the students. As I took my seat at a side table, our
choir teacher didn’t miss a beat and led the students to the next facet of the
choir lesson. Today they were analyzing their performances from last Monday’s
Winter Choir Concert. With her AppleTV ready to go, and the Padlet website
ready to roll, the students were ready to talk about their personal
reflections. Multiple students accessed with Padlet website from their personal
devices. It was so cool to see the students simply access their devices and
open up the website (www.padlet.com ).
Using the Padlet projection on the screen or their own devices the students
were able to engage in shoulder partner discussions, small group, or whole
class conversations! This educator has taken the next step in integrating technology
in a student-friendly way that empowers student: learning, voice, and
ownership.
Later in the morning I stopped by an 8th Grade PE class. This time two
PE teachers we in the middle of the Communicable / Non-Communicable Disease
Project with their Health classes. With
the opportunity to use PowerPoint, Prezi, emaze, PowToon or any other
presentation media, the students were given the freedom to create their
educational journey presentation for the class. During the health class each student presented
their research. The students led out the presentations, the student audience
led out the question and answer sessions and the two classroom teachers
facilitated the learning experience. It was
exciting to see the students as lead learners in front of their peers.
It was just as rejuvenating to see their peers engaging in the Q&A session
with higher level critical learning questions.
The magic of technology integration opens the doors for all
learners in all content areas. So when you are in doubt that technology
integration is possible, simple reflect on these two examples where teachers
pushed and challenged their students to take their learning to the next level. Simply
believe in your students and your ability to use technology to enhance,
supplement, and compliment the classroom learning environment. It is our responsibility
to challenge our students to catapult their learning to the next level. I am
looking forward to hearing of the messages and learning stories from your schools - as to how your school it using the "magic of technology integration" in the classroom setting!
