Leaning into It

Now that I made my peace with the internet and social media in the classroom, I am astounded by the richness of learning experiences that they bring right into the palm of our student’s hands. Wikipedia is not my grandmother’s dusty encyclopedia that only serve as a flower press and it is not some laissez-faire free-for-all.  It is an amazing platform where students can easily access the world’s largest up-to-date encyclopedia made by the global community, and they can even make meaningful contributions to it.  Likewise, the power of information that is within a simple Google search is rather incredible.  It crosses space and time.  A Google search can send you across the world to learn about other cultures' perspectives in less than a second.  Even many historical newspapers can be searched by keyword at https://news.google.com/newspapers in no time at all.  No more microfiche for us. That level of accessibility is revolutionizing our world.  I for one want to take every opportunity we to expand our thinking and knowledge base.  Technology in the classroom empowers our students to be active participants in constructing their knowledge.  In doing so they gain an invaluable skill-set that will help them become college and career ready.   

This is not a daunting task. Technology can seamlessly be utilized to enrich any content area.  A platform like Twitter can be a great resource for teacher collaboration and knowledge sharing, but it can also serve students.  An example of using Twitter for student enrichment is the popular hashtag, #comments4kids.  An educator can upload a student’s work to gain feedback from the global education community.   This creates added responsibility for the student to create something they are proud of, and it provides opportunity for positive feedback for others in the community.  

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I will admit allowing the public to comment on student work sounds scary, but teachers can approve the comments before they are visible. So, there is no actual danger of spamming or cyberbullying.  The only outcome is a student’s excitement when someone across the country or world leaves a comment for them.  Click here for an example.  A #comment4kids is simply done by searching the hashtag, clicking the link, and leaving a meaningful message for that student.  What a powerful interaction that is surely underutilized.  The truth is when we lean into technology with our classroom instead of fearing it, a whole new world of possibility opens for us and our students.