As a school leader, I don’t have all the resources I want, but one of the few I can generally ask for and expect to receive is technology. Whether software or hardware, digital tools seem to be a priority when discussing student learning opportunities. There is this ever-prevalent belief that one app or device will fix what ails education.
Yet what if technology is not the cure, but in fact is the cause of some of these perceived problems? Research is starting to reveal the consequences of always being on. For example, since the iPhone came out in 2007, reported levels of anxiety in people have risen. Anyone with a smartphone can relate to the constant pull to check out what is happening on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and its ilk.
Virginia Heffernan, a columnist for Slate and author of Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art, reminds us in her writings about the origins and intent of building a more digitally connected world. Public service professionals, such as people in government and academics, developed the internet to be a “computer-communications system” as “a kind of diversion.” Their work could be isolating, and they wanted a way to connect with others through a medium they knew. However, today people feel the opposite, their attention parsed out more than ever.
So where does this leave us with regard to technology in the classroom? I go back to the whole premise behind the internet: to connect people within a community. If technology facilitates this experience, then I think it is a good thing. If not, then we have an obligation as educators and professionals to question any practices that isolate ourselves from each other in an unhealthy way. The rest of this article offers ideas for creating a classroom and school community that bring people together with technology in mind instead of separating them.
Get to Know One Another
When we care about something or someone, we tend to exert more effort for and give more attention to that thing or person. We experience positive responses when we make emotional connections with ideas and individuals that bring us joy. And there is little more joyful than a community in which the individuals feel connected with each other. To start this process, teachers can survey their students about their likes, dislikes, past experiences in school, and hopes and goals for the school year. With this information, teachers have much of what they need to prepare their classrooms for learning experiences that capture students’ interests and guide them toward success.
Where technology fits in: I use Google Forms quite a bit for collecting information via surveys and questionnaires. Every fall, I submit a Google Form to all staff so they can provide feedback about my abilities as a school leader. This information gives me feedback about my strengths and areas where I need to grow. Teachers can replicate this process, using Forms to have students input information about themselves to differentiate instruction in the future.
Co-Develop the Classroom with Students
What does it say when a teacher spends all of August in their classroom getting it ready for their future students? I initially think, They are designing a learning space for themselves first, their kids second. Maybe I am wrong in my assumption. Yet I do believe we miss out on an opportunity to build community through co-developing the learning space together. Engagement and involvement in organizing the classroom library or setting up the tables and chairs can help students feel more ownership in the space in which they learn. They are more likely to take better care of it and work together to maintain a high-quality literacy environment.
Where technology fits in: Again, we can garner students’ feedback with Google Forms about how they want the classroom to serve their learning needs. What can also be effective in building community with the help of technology is capturing the process for co-developing the classroom. For example, first-grade teachers in my school captured several photos of how they set up their classroom library together. Then they curated these images and created a multimedia presentation with Animoto about the experience.
Using this digital application, students can watch and rewatch the experience of building something together.
Set Goals with Students
Although I don’t believe students should be let loose, willy-nilly, in setting personal goals related to school, I do think they should be in the driver’s seat during this process. The teacher’s role is to ask several questions and offer feedback when appropriate during this conversation. Just as I try to do with our faculty, teachers can serve more as a coach in helping their students devise plans to investigate their questions and eventually present their ideas. Student-directed inquiry is so important that we dedicated part of the schedule to ensuring that this work was happening. The benefits of this work to the classroom community are that everyone is seen as a learner and capable of self-directed research based on their interests and passions.
Where technology fits in: This is where, I believe, technology can shine. Software has been developed to guide students in exploring their passions in a structured and productive manner. For example, learning management systems such as Epiphany Learning and Project Foundry direct students to set a goal, develop a plan, and identify an expected outcome. Eventual results are published and celebrated in a personal student portfolio, visible to families and the entire school.
As this past year ended, students and teachers hugged and wished each other well over the summer break. Both laughter and tears were evident. These expressions of caring had little to do with any app or tablet. Rather, it was about the relationships forged during the previous nine months. In the best classrooms, these connections were mediated because of the face-to-face time, with connectivity as a support. Technology has its place in today’s classroom as long as it serves the larger purposes of education.
