Shake Up Learning: Ch. 4: Technology Is Not a Solution

Technology has offered so many opportunities. I have been in a 1:1 classroom since I started teaching in 2014. Out of the seven different classes that I have taught in my four years in the district, only two classes have had textbooks. Both of those classes were Advanced Placement classes. Technology has opened a world of information to my students. It has also allowed them to publish their findings online, collaborate remotely, and share their work with others. My students have become creators, not just consumers.

My district is not a wealthy district. There are some students that don’t have access to the internet outside of school. Other students are actively involved in extracurricular activities or work that take up their time after school. I have been working to solve this problem by allowing my students more collaborative time and work time in class. This allows me to give feedback while they are working instead of only when their projects are complete. Other than that, I haven’t encountered many issues with technology that my students and I couldn’t fix or be flexible about.

I think it is ideal to have one device per student. I don’t think that they should always be on that device, and they sometimes should share devices to better collaborate, but it is ideal to be able to have all students working individually on their device if needed. This also allows students to bring the device home and collaborate from there.