Tech Exploration

My Tech Life

I use technology to the fullest in learning, and I use it to the laziest in being lazy.

For learning Korean, I use Memrise, which is a website for learning and studying vocabulary for foreign languages. For learning difficult concepts in my classes, I use YouTube videos and lecture videos. To get practice typing, I use typing games online (I used one for learning to type Korean on a standard keyboard, I used one to practice typing numbers quickly on the number pad since I work in accounting and type numbers all day, and now I use one to learn to type so I can break my habit of hunt-and-pecking). I use the apps on my phone to stream podcasts and I play an accounting game that helps me learn how to use debits and credits.

In my free time, however, I waste a good amount of time on Netflix, Facebook, iFunny, and IWasteSoMuchTime.com (yes, that is a real website), browsing the ocean of nothingness that is cat videos and memes.

I think most teachers are less tech-savvy than me (most use Facebook, but don't really know what a meme is) and most student are more hip than me (most use snapchat and instagram and all of the other social-media/meme-based apps that I am not aware of).

Tech Tools to Enhance Student Learning

I love the EdPuzzle program! This is a great way to make a video interactive and interesting. Stopping periodically to ask questions is a fantastic way for students to reflect on and process what they just learned. Giving the choice to stop as often as they want also lets student move as quickly as they are able or to take it as slow as they need to. EdPuzzle also makes it easy for teachers to use the program how they want. It is also beneficial to teachers when it comes to evaluating how much students have gotten done and determine what more work needs to be done.

Authentic Tasks for Students

I think it is important to have students write digitally since that is the preferred method of assignment submission in high school and college. Students need to develop typing skills and learn how to utilize the advantages that word processors have over pencil and paper.

StoryBird is my favorite in the list! I have been interested in art my whole life, and I think most people love books with pictures, whether it be novels, nonfiction books, or class textbooks. I think this is a great way to make writing a story fun, and get students to share their stories and read each others work.

What Lies Ahead?

One of the things I have noticed about technology or learning is that it can be used to make learning easier and more fun, or it can be used as a crutch, and can hold students back. Because every student has a calculator in their pocket, many do not build the proper level of fluency with their times table. As a math tutor and substitute teacher, I made sure to never let my students know about certain math tools such as Wolfram Alpha or Photomath, since these applications can be used to instantly solve problems for them. And that would be the last day any of the students would spend time working their homework problems out.

This can also apply to English, in writing essays. Some teachers use websites to check for plagiarism in essays. However, students can use these websites to copy an essay, tweak it, and check for plagiarism again and again until they have changed it just enough for the website to not recognize the essay as plagiarized anymore.

I am excited for the new tools that come out for teaching and learning every day. I personally use Memrise for my own language learning and believe it has kept me learning long after I would have become frustrated using flashcards or other low-tech methods and given up. I also love the myriad of educational videos on websites such as KhanAcademy or even YouTube that has made learning the content of my college classes far more bearable. I think it is incredibly important for teachers to instill a love of learning into students so that they turn to technology to help them learn, and not to try to cheat through their work.

Choose Your Tools Wisely

Teachers need to be aware of the abilities of new programs and technologies, in order to meet higher order needs. Some websites may only reach a level of remembering or understanding, but not give the opportunity to develop skills in evaluating and creating. A technological tool may take a lesson to the next hierarchical level, or bring the lesson down and make it too easy.

What Next?

I think EdPuzzle would be a great tool to learn to use as a teacher. It's interactive, allows individuality for how student use it, and teachers can use it with whatever videos they want to teach any lesson for that week.