Technology+Vision

= = = = =Rebecca Reiter= Informational Literacy Seventh Grade

The educational technology of the 21st Century, like never before, is revolutionizing the institution of education. Used wisely, today's technology has the potential to personalize learning in a way that demands educators to be prepared for and to embrace its potential, to create collaborative dialogue between students, teachers, and parents, and to move education out into the world. My technology vision is a masterful blend of digital technology with traditional pedagogy, allowing knowledgeable educators to:

[|Tune in to students' passions and interests.] [|Enrich the learning experience.] [|Connect learners anywhere.] [|Host new adventures.] [|Nurture the creative mind.] [|Open doors to 21st Century opportunities.] [|Launch personalized learning environments.] [|Organize and deliver instruction.] [|Gain better insight into student potential and achievement.] [|Yield greater learning outcomes.]

As I introduced the new course, Informational Literacy, I am teaching at Hudson Middle School, I used the technology tool FlipQuiz, a //Jeopardy// style game. This is one example of how I engage the learners in my classroom with digital technology. As they prepare for their upcoming multigenre writing digital projects, I share with them examples of activities created by digital tools that they might use as a platform for their own writing. Although the project centers on an essential question, each student is encouraged to select a topic of personal interest that is related to the essential question. They are also able to select the digital tools that are most appropriate for each piece of writing. It is important to model the tools first so they can see the potential of various tools. Although seventh graders, the age group I work with, are considered digital natives, many of them still lack the necessary stills needed to navigate the digital tools of learning. As we approach "new generation" testing to be administered via an online platform, using a more personalized approach to learning, allowing them to study topics of personal interest, and providing them with a repertoire of digital tools to select from is challenging for many of them. They are not used to having that kind of educational freedom, As I introduce the various skills, especially the interactive games, I see a level of engagement not seen in other types of activities in the classroom. One tool, Kahoot!, recently introduced to me via a tweet, was a big hit. Kahoot! allows me to administer fun and engaging formative assessments resulting in information that quickly can be analyzed to determine student achievement. Collecting and interpreting this data digitally is much more manageable than collecting the same bits of information on note cards or sticky style notes. The use of digital technology offers benefits for both educators and their students, but the selection of tools needs to be deliberate, mindful, and representative of best practices and sound pedagogy while possessing the capability to enhance the learning process.

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Padlet allows teachers and students to create virtual walls. The example below represents information students learned from a video that they watched. Although you will not see feedback on this particular wall, the tool does allow the teacher the ability to add feedback to each response. The teacher is also able to edit or delete each post.

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