Making Connections

 When I made the decision to start an educational technology program, I did it because I felt like it was something that would continue to shape my career moving forward, and that technology related to education was something I was aware of, and had a growing familiarity with. At the same time, I felt consistently inadequate in terms of being able to envision the possibilities educational technology offered, and worried that I would never really be able to ‘catch up’ to all of the options that were out there. Having now completed the first class in that program, I can say that my eyes have been opened, mostly to the fact that the sheer breadth of resources makes it difficult to feel like an ‘expert’, but that just seeking out the opportunity to learn is what is most important.

My experience with educational technology has been mainly driven by the last few years working in a 1-1 environment (in two different buildings/districts). The majority of my focus was originally on finding new apps or tools to use in the classroom, because it seemed like quantity was the most important thing. We had these awesome new devices, so it only made sense to find a bunch of different things to do with them, right? As time went on, I realized that, just like everything else, the reason behind using something is more important. And, there is such a thing as TOO MUCH technology-I could feel my students become zombies at points, because days became a routine of come in, sit down, get on your Chromebook, and just kind of zone out. The device became more of a crutch than a benefit, which then led me to have to step back and reexamine my relationship with technology.

Moving forward since I had that realization, I have looked to become more informed on the capabilities of different services or apps, and reflect on how they can be used for a purpose, and then align that purpose with my curriculum and lesson design. I know this seems like, well duh, of course that’s what you should do, but I think this is part of why my relationship with technology has always felt less stable than I’d like. I have also had to rationalize my use of technology as I have learned more strategies of said use; for example, I remember learning about SAMR for the first time, and feeling like every time I used technology I had to aim for ‘redefining’ what I had done before, when really this is not the purpose of SAMR. Technology does not (at least in my eyes) only need to focus on completely changing what we have done in our classrooms in the past-but it can feel that way when you first learn the latest acronym.

This all said, my own use of technology has been mostly limited to within the classroom. However, one major takeaway from this first course in educational technology is the importance of thinking about technology outside of the classroom, especially from the perspective of creating a Professional Learning Network, or PLN. One of the activities in this first course asked me to revisit using Twitter, specifically for the purpose of being an active participant, and building out that network of people and places where I can find ideas and information related to teaching. Don’t get me wrong, my colleagues and coaches at my school are awesome, and they have so much information to share, but being able to interact with people and ideas from around the world is on a different level. It definitely opened my eyes to what I can find, both in terms of things to help me, and also in terms of ways that I can help others. I enjoyed being able to send ideas to questions that others had posed in both a Twitter chat, and just as posts in general. It makes becoming an active participant in both ways of a PLN much easier, and I can now see more in terms of why teachers rely so much on social media for ideas.

One other main topic from this first course I will come away looking at differently is the importance of understanding students as 21st century learners. As much as it pains me to admit, I am now clearly part of a different generation than the students I am teaching, and so it is unrealistic for me to be able to assume that my thinking or approaches to a problem will be similar to my students, or that I can empathize with their experiences, because they are so different. Just understanding where my students get their information from, how they prioritize their time, the value they see in technology, social media, etc. are all things that I need to be mindful of. I make getting to know my students a priority every year; my school has been preaching creating a sense of belonging, and honoring the dignity of all students, and I realize now that it is important to remember that students’ relationship with technology is part of who they are, and something that I need to seek to understand.

With that said, when I first started this course, I used the following GIFs to explain my feelings about technology:

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Having experienced this first course, I feel that one still applies, while the other needs tweaking. I am no longer looking to completely ditch technology as often, but I do still feel there needs to be a balance struck between when to use technology for a purpose, or when just using technology has itself become the purpose. A new GIF that I feel does represent my feelings on technology is this:

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First, it comes from Abbott Elementary, which has been a recent favorite of my wife and I, and is a show that I think any teacher could watch and relate to. Moreover, it references making connections, and ‘creating new lives’. Now, I don’t think that technology is literally creating new lives, but I do think that it drives connections that can be made-both for our students and for ourselves. Technology opens up the ability to find people and things and ideas that we otherwise couldn’t. And so, in a way, technology can help us at least live different lives. But, again, my main takeaway from this course is how technology can help us make positive connections. So, here is to continuing to make those connections moving forward into this program, and to finding time to connect with someone new when I can!