Expanding My Technology Horizons

Maybe I don’t think big enough. Maybe, as a writing teacher, I only think about my audience. Either way, I find myself thinking about the technologies that I have explored the past eight weeks and how my district will accept them rather than how I can use them. As a result, the majority of my learning has focused on what my district already has in place and how I can utilize that technology to the fullest. Since we are a technology rich district due to our Title One status, there is a lot of technology in our rooms! (I am still waiting on a request to use Moodle to develop my online unit, however…) So much so that I am coming under fire for not using my SmartBoard the way the district wants it used. Why, when there is so much more out there?

There is one exception to the amount of technology we use – online tools. I will continue to expand my students’ life experiences by creating meaningful lessons centered on local and global issues to meet 21st Century standards. I will allow them a creative, problem solving outlet and access to differing opinions through Voicethread. Blogs do the same thing, but without the visuals. Allowing the creativity of visuals will expand their digital literacy skills in ways that I can only imagine. Photostory also expands their creativity with the inclusion of visuals, but lacks the discussion piece. Voicethread includes the best of blogs and Photostory combined.

The more Voicethreads I put out there, the more my district will take notice. The more they notice, the closer to district adoption of Voicethreads I will come. Maybe the district will quit saying I need to use my SmartBoard for drill and practice lessons when they see how much more digitally literate my students are becoming from the experiences gained through collaboration using online tools…