The Reimagining of Learning

What is it that makes technology something to be feared? One of my biggest disappointments in sports is that as leagues have embraced the use of more and more technology when it comes to showing you the games, they have often been very stubborn to use that technology as an officiating tool. I have often said, to the few people who listen to me, that at the elite level of sports, the camera can serve as a means to slow down the action and double check the accuracy of moments that are too fast or at an angle that is too severe for the officials on the field to see. Instant replay has allowed the missed calls and the wrong calls to be shown dozens of times and shines a light on human error that is unnecessary.

This is no different in the classroom. Technology expands the classroom. It is a tool to make learning more interactice, more accurate, and more pertinent for our students. A tool like Today’s Meet allows teachers to set up a short term chatroom where students and teachers can engage in a silent conversation with one another. I have used this tool when watching a movie during class, allowing students to engage with the movie, without interrupting the experience for others. They can ask questions that not only get answered by the teacher, but other students are empowered to respond. It is a potential way to get the student who rarely speaks during class to get out their thoughts by writing them down. It takes us away from the “sage on the stage” and allows students to answer questions for their classmates, allowing them to be the “sage.” It makes learning and teaching more collaborative for all involved, which is a goal that more and more classrooms strive to reach.

Technology reimagines the classroom, just as I suggested officiating should be reimagined using technology. Like athletes are bigger and stronger, students are coming to us with other skills and more knowledge than ever before, and we need to use the tools available to us, to meet their needs effectively.