Pedagogy before Technology

Readings–Pedagogy before Technology

The role of technology in the classroom has evolved rapidly in the time I have been an educator. Students are growing up in a world where instant access to information, innovative creative tools, and digital expectations are embedded in normal everyday life. They regularly use technology to learn, create, communicate and collaborate. They have a social media presence from birth and are using technology well before their first classroom experience. To be effective educators we must be aware of and educated about the various tech that our students are experiencing daily.

I grew up in a world of CD’s, VCR’s, answering machines, and walkmans. Reading the Marist Mindset List, published each year as a new class of freshmen enters college, was a great reminder for me to stay present and aware that my student’s experiences are different from my own. There is value in sharing where I come from, but I can also model the importance of being open to change and innovation. The first available Marist Mindset List was published for the graduating class of 2002. I graduated a few years before then, but it was still interesting to compare that year’s list to the current list. Their concerns most definitely differ from the things I was thinking about in 1996.

The entering class of 2023, variously known as Gen Z, Gen I, Gen Tech, and “The Plurals,” is the first class born in the 21st century. List contributor Tom Zurhellen, Associate Professor of English at Marist, said this generation has definite concerns about algorithms that predict their feelings and interests, even as facial recognition programs, Facebook, and smartwatches observe their every move. (McBride, 2019)

Students today are operating under circumstances I couldn’t have imagined when I was growing up. Because of this, librarians have a unique responsibility to effectively and efficiently protect intellectual freedom, and teach information literacy. We are front and center in the ever-advancing world of educational technology. We provide students with guidance as they navigate the complicated and sometimes overwhelming landscape of technology choices.

Bloom’s Taxonomy has been foundational to effective teaching since its inception in the 1950’s. Educators have used these guidelines to create and implement curriculum that advances students from lower to higher order thinking. Revisions to Bloom’s have brought it’s precepts up to date in today’s technology rich classrooms. 

Digital transformation is about changing attitudes and the enabling of educators, parents and school leaders to fully realize the benefits of digital technologies. And the schools benefiting most from digital transformation will be open to change; have systems and structures in place that foster innovation while ensuring that technology use is always relevant to the learning context. (Embracing Transformation, n.d.)

Resources are readily available to help teachers at every level of the taxonomy. Common Sense Education provides the following graphic to illustrate technology that supports every level of Bloom’s triangle.

  

(Common Sense Education, 2022)

The campus I work at uses Google, so I was excited to see that Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything had a section specifically for G Suite Apps, pictured below. Resources like this provide a guide for aspiring teacher techies to see what is available and explore what might be valuable for their campus.

      

(Schrock, n.d.)

Glancing through these apps, I am hopeful that technology can improve education at every level. Students have opportunities to progress from the most basic technological features, to truly creative tools. Choosing technology that assists and accommodates exploration and research is a skill that librarians can facilitate. We do not have to be masters of every available resource, but if we are informed, we can point students to technology that enhances their learning.

When I first started my teaching career six years ago, I would occasionally hear a teacher say, “I’m just not a technology person. I prefer to do it the old school way.” This attitude has changed dramatically as new teachers enter the profession, and seasoned teachers realize that to remain relevant they must be technologically proficient. 

Utilizing educational technology, educators have begun transforming instruction, assessments, and the overall concept of the classroom. These solutions empower teachers to be increasingly innovative in their teaching methods to improve student success and engage them like never before. And new technologies are poised to push this transformative wave even further. (Digital Transformation in K-12 Education, n.d.)

I was in college when I first learned about email, and learned to use a word processing program. I remember books on tape, but back then I couldn’t have imagined the existence of digital reading. The shift from print to digital classroom content coupled with mandated technology initiatives are examples of how quickly technology is changing education. Students live in a world of real-time collaboration and readily available information. It is our job as librarians to ensure that all students have equal access to information. We cannot let students be left behind in our technology driven world.

References

Common Sense Education. (2022, October 2). . - YouTube. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy

Digital Transformation in K-12 Education. (n.d.). K-12 Blueprint. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/sites/default/files/SHI-K12BP-Digital-Transformation-in-K-12-Education.pdf

Embracing Transformation. (n.d.). K-12 Blueprint. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/sites/default/files/SHI-K12BP-Embracing-Transformation.pdf

McBride, T. (2019, August 21). Marist News: The First Marist Mindset List is Released. Marist College. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from https://www.marist.edu/w/marist-news-the-first-marist-mindset-list-is-released

Schrock, K. (n.d.). Bloomin' Apps. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html

2002 List | The Mindset Lists of American History. (n.d.). The Mindset Lists of American History -. Retrieved September 2, 2023, from http://themindsetlist.com/lists/2002/

This writing created as an assignment for SHSU LSSL 5391.