Technology for Teachers

 

The first source I chose was Forbes discussing remote learning. Next I chose Kitaboo discussing gamification and AR and VR. E-learning also discussed the trend of animation and finally I chose F Learning Studio to discuss STEAM. Remote learning is a topic that impacted me directly as my first year teaching we never returned to in person class after spring break. Gamification sounds like a great way to increase student participation and create a buy in. My previous district had VR simulation machines for health and engineering topics, however I never used them as no training was provided and I felt uncomfortable. Digging into this topic interests me. STEM has always been a hot topic in schools and I have seen it provided as a special, adding Art and creating STEAM is a great way for students to express themselves in another way. I look forward to learning ways to incorporate this into the classroom.

The platforms I chose are Facebook, Pintrest, Zoom, YouTube, and Google. I follow many groups for fifth grade teachers as well as autism groups as I will be moving into that role next school year. One of my all time favorite groups is Not So Whimpy 5th Grade Teachers. These ladies offer multiple resources on the page, hosts discussions, and also promote their materials on teachers pay teachers.I tend to interact most on Facebook with my education groups as it's nice to get opinions and ideas from others around the world with an outside perspective. Pintrest has been a great source to find creative art projects for the whole class as well as enrichment activities to challenge my students. Zoom became my best friend during covid as that is how I taught all of my lessons, met with colleagues, and communicated with parents. Zoom has also allowed me to attend out of state PD and still receive the same instruction and knowledge as if I was sitting in an auditorium. YouTube has allowed me to research topics I struggle with, upload videos for course work as well as the classroom, and teach my students how to make videos online for project purposes. Google is my go to search engine, as well as google classroom for uploading online content. I utilize google the most as it's quick and easy to navigate.

Remote learning allows students to learn topics and take classes that may not be offered in their area. Remote learning also allows for students taking higher education classes to build a schedule around their daily lives. Remote learning is also becoming popular in the workplace for training purposes. "A study by IBM into its own remote learning initiatives found that its learners had been able to absorb five times more content, at one-third of the cost to the company, resulting in a saving of $200 million" (Marr, 2022). This data shows that more content is being retained while also saving a company money, sounds like a win win. One con of remote learning is that devices and sources can often be outdated easily due to the constant change in technology. Keeping up with new practices, devices, and programs must be a priority.

Creating engaging lessons is one topic always on a teachers mind. One way to increase student engagement is the trend gamification. Students live in a world where technology is all around them. Popular games like roblox, minecraft, and mario brothers are played daily. Students may not know it but these games provide educational as well as situational real life opportunities.

AR and VR provide great ways to enhance images in students learning. This can be exceptionally helpful in science class when discussing organs, anatomy, color optics, and stars, moons, and planets in space. It is important to discuss realistic pictures with students as it's easy to use VR to pull up animated images that look cool, but are not helpful to the topic being discussed. "Unlike plain images and hands-on experiments in the lab, students can now view enhanced versions of the image and objects on their mobile devices. (Vishal, 2022). This is also a great tool to allow students to explore technology independently while still creating engaging learning opportunities.

Animation allows people to create pictures with great detail for one to remember. These details can often express ones self creating self to text concepts. "Since our brain reacts to visual stimuli stronger than to text, training videos help students remember what they've learned in the long run when the knowledge is labeled to a specific image. (Bui, 2022). This is a great way to build retention and relate concepts to visuals.

STEAM is similar to STEM but now adds art to the elements. STEAM is a great way to use science, technology, engineering, art, and math in hands on activities and creative design. "STEAM helps students become increasingly curious about the world around them. Moreover, it also creates a safe environment for the learners to express and experience their ideas while able to think outside of the box" (F- Learning, 2021). These are all great strategies students can use in the technological world to be confident and powerful learners.

References:

Bui, S. T. (n.d.). 6 educational technology trends that go all out in 2022. eLearning Industry.

Marr, B. (n.d.). The five biggest education and Training Technology Trends in 2022. Forbes.

Top educational technology trends [update 2020/2021]. F. Learning Studio. (n.d.).

Vishal, D. (n.d.). 8 trends in education technology that will have a major impact. Kitaboo.