Last year I started to share and explore technologies in education through a ten-minute-tech-talk format. It was an opportunity to showcase a technology that students may not have seen before or one that we had used in class that students may want to experience. This past summer, I started to collect and capture some video and audio tools for an article I was writing to support audio and video feedback in the classroom. While this collection is still being developed, I'm coming back to this idea about integrating tech talks into my classroom work. It's a struggle since my primary focus is on teaching and pedagogy, not technology. But without an opportunity to see what technologies are available and the affordances of those tools, there may never be a connection created for teachers. Part of my own learning comes from other teachers and educators who try new tools and technologies, then share their experiences in classroom integration. Being able to make informed decisions about technologies means that I need to 'be informed'. I need to try, test, work through tribulations, and figure out where, when or how the tool fits my student's needs. My ability to use a hammer or screwdriver, pencil or marker, computer or mobile device is dependant on my competency in knowing what the tool does and when I need to use it. This is the same for technology. One of my 'go to' sources for digital tools and technologies for education is Steve Dotto's Dotto Tech site.
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Author - HJ DeWaardDigital teacher, learner and explorer. Creating and sharing all things educational technology related. Archives
January 2016
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