Ready Teacher One: Why We Need To Embrace Technology In The Classroom

Technology " Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before." My dad was an engineer and a Star Trek fanatic. We had the entire book series and of course watched the television shows. This was the time before VHS recorders. To watch, you had to have the television on and be in front of it. We would all sit and watch as the crew explored new worlds, fought adversaries and worked as a team to solve problems. I remember when my dad got the black and white two player video game Pong. We were beside ourselves and would sit on the couch clicking and hearing "boop" "boop" as the ball hit the paddle and was returned back and forth between players. My dad would be beside himself now with holograms, tracking chips in animals and humans, Find Me apps on "devices" and 24/7 connections to the world. I come from a family of explorers and question "askers". Christmas and birthday presents were socks of course, and a red Craftsman toolbox with a new tool added when opportunity for celebration presented itself. The magic device - a Phillips head screwdriver:) If it had screws we took it apart and explored "I wonder, how, why and what".

Now I am a teacher and I still have my toolbox however, now it is filled with different kinds of tools. I feel like I am in a galaxy of technological resources. With the click of a button or the swipe of my finger I can talk to educators who are like minded in my Personal Learning Network (PLN). I learn about the newest websites and applications and I can share my ideas and strategies. I have owned a number of businesses and worked retail. If you want to be successful then you have to make sure you are anticipating and meeting the needs and wants of the customer. Educational leaders who continue to stay in their classroom, alone may be be passed by because "honey there's a new kind of student in town". The students in middle and high school have now lived a life embedded with technology. They talk to their phone for goodness sake! And it talks back! Siri, Alexa, Echo, Cortana and Google are the "new life". We are on the edge of new civilizations with robotics, holograms and virtual reality. 

I love learning, sharing and collaborating. Giving and receiving constructive feedback is how we grow and make things better. I use Twitter education chats to have productive and reflective conversations with educational leaders around the world. The learners in these chats are innovative explorers. #edmodochat #LeadLAP, #5thchat #aussiechat  #formativechat #edtechchat #pblchat #blogchat #podcastchat 
I like to explore, review and rate resources on Edmodo Spotlight. Doing this with purpose is like a mini reflective professional development where I can learn applications, teaching and learning strategies. Playing in the Formative Community Center is another place I can chat, ask questions, share resources and learn how to effectively use technology in the classroom. More and more I participate in conversations with my extended family of educational leaders from around the world using Zoom and Google Meet.  I have started taking virtual selfies for fun and to document our time together. 

These learning experiences are a big part of what drive me to a conference session. I also consider, location, availability and seating that supports my learning styles. This year big conference sessions were Social Emotional Learning, Trauma, LGBTQI, Sketchnoting, Gamification, Autism, Global, Empathy, PBL, Ethics, Cultural Diversity, Career & Technology, Podcasting & Blogging. I believe Podcasting and Blogging will be addressed even more next year. Both are an impacful way to use technology to move students up the SAMR & Blooms Taxonomy for instruction, learning, assessment and portfolios.   

When I present at conferences I try to model and share resources that can empower teachers to use technology in their instructional practices. I find that providing first hand experiences can potentially excite any learner to explore, use and apply to their personal outcome needs or desires. #create #innovate #collaborate

I try to encourage other teachers to use technology by:

1. Using their phones to engage in learning and sharing. 

2. Sharing my twitter handle and encouraging them to tweet the session.

3. Using QR codes to take them to resources in the presentation.

4. Using Padlet or Flipgrid to have them collaborate.

5. Sharing the slide presentation. 

I recently saw the movie Ready Player One with my husband. It had music from when I was growing up so it was especially exciting. The digital effects with technology were super cool. The movie was centered around virtual reality, holograms, gamification and imagination. Today this is where our students live. However, the movie ultimately makes a point that we still need to nurture our relationships in person, even in the presence of amazing technology. My closing thought is technology is super fantastic and allows us to do things we were not able to do in the past but never forget the power of relationships, going outside and unplugging for our personal wellness and our students.