Getting the best out of technology
The exponential growth of technology poses challenges and provides opportunities for education. Online learning gives access to global resources but does away with classroom interaction. Elsewhere, educators say technology must be seen as a tool to help students learn, not an end in itself, while teachers must also develop their own technological skills.
The Lower school students at SCIS
Benefits and limitations of online world
Technology has not only evolved, but become a part of our daily lives. We can therefore utilize it to improve learning.
Every day, during the time on commutes, listening to audio books is a fantastic way to get in a little learning.
There are also a myriad of online platforms that provide courses. Students can use free resources such as Khan Academy, IXL and Quizlet to sharpen their skills. And apps such as Studying Amino create chatrooms for students around the globe to share their knowledge.
Grace Yuan-Yuan Ho is a Grade 9 student at SCIS Pudong campus.
As a previous homeschooler, I discovered that online education had both massive benefits and limitations. Taking online classes with teachers who were thousands of miles away with a click of a button was a refreshing experience. It enabled flexibility to cater toward one’s schedule and opened a world of opportunities.
However, there were times in which I found online school lacking. Not being able to see my classmates and physically interact with them, felt lonely and created a longing to meet them face-to-face.
Hence, although online schooling was an eye-opening experience, I found that it couldn’t replace the joy of communicating with others in traditional schooling.
(The article is contributed by Grace Yuan-Yuan Ho, a Grade 9 student at SCIS Pudong campus.）
Tools to learn research and problem solving
The first priority we K-12 teachers have is to establish a positive relationship with all of our students. Our challenge is to prepare our students for a life of learning, growth and collaboration in both formal and informal settings.
To accomplish this task we teach content and skills, model behaviors and employ instructional strategies and tools that maximize the teaching/learning process and foster the teacher-student relationship.
One means through which we build effective relationships while modeling lifelong learning is mastering the educational tools that are most engaging and effective for the task.
Education technology, or EdTech, is a subset of these tools. As with other tools, the focus must not be on the implement itself but rather on the task being accomplished.
As Dr Heidi-Hayes Jacobs, master of curriculum design, reminds us: “Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event.”
There really are times when a pencil and paper are the best tools for the purpose. At other times using EdTech tools that make possible the building and analyzing of data sets, constructing and programing of robots, or the crafting of virtual worlds are the best tools.
EdTech tools are worth mastering for the purposes of building relationships and educating young minds. These tools can be employed in powerful ways to create applied learning opportunities.
Chris Carter is a tech coach and teacher at Concordia International School Shanghai.
In my role as a tech coach at Concordia International School Shanghai, I see numerous examples of how teachers incorporate EdTech tools in authentic and purposive ways that enhance student learning.
Take the Big Data class for instance. Here the students participate in the collection and analysis of real-life data sets, such as the school’s air quality index (AQI) measurements. They collect AQI readings from around campus, analyze it and present their findings. In Synthetic Biology students become the scientists.
They pose questions, formulate possible solutions and conduct tests to see whether or not their solutions work in the real world. Students use computer models that predict the likely success of their solutions, and they share their results with experts in the field through both remote and live conferencing. In Aerospace Engineering students build, test, and fly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The important thing to note, is that the digital devices, the software, the models, the UAVs are simply the tools. The research, problem solving and collaboration are the methods through which students acquire and apply real-world experience.
These three examples highlight the necessity of intellectual flexibility, creative problem solving and collaboration. These are the essential skills of our current age.
Alvin Toffler, sociologist and futurist, is quoted as saying: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
K-12 teachers use EdTech tools to teach 21st century literacy.
(The article is contributed by Chris Carter, a tech coach and teacher at Concordia International School Shanghai.）
Bring your own device helps develop right skills
The Western International School of Shanghai aims to prepare students to live, work and thrive in a 21st-century world while at the same time being mindful of technology overuse.
As an IB World School, we are committed to the point of view from the IB Primary Years Program on technology learning, mainly to create opportunities for authentic and purposeful experiences in learning technology, learning about technology and learning through technology.
When technology is integrated into learning, opportunities open up for students to further develop their collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking skills.
To fully support technology integration in the PYP, WISS students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 participate in a “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) approach.
Doreen Garrigan is Primary School principal at Western International School of Shanghai.
The “why” of BYOD to WISS was simple: the development of 21st-century skills and placement of technology use integrating the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. The decision to have students bring iPads was a decisive one. Based on feedback from other international schools that employ a BYOD approach, having one type of device proved more effective for classroom use and manageability. iPads were selected because they are a useful, real-life tool with rich resources available for classroom assignments.
The air-drop feature eliminated problems with sharing files between students and teachers. For parents who were not iPad users, the rationale was explained as the need for children today to develop a platform-agnostic approach, as this will be their reality out in the world.
With personal devices in students’ and teachers’ hands, opportunities to learn the functionality of different online tools, stay up-to-date with technology evolution, and to use technology to inquire deeper was further actualized.
Students learn about the importance of staying safe online and how to communicate in a caring, principled manner.
Purposeful technology has allowed for the device to be sought after for more than just entertainment use. Parent feedback on the use of personal devices during the school day reported less use at home for non-educational reasons.
It is the goal of bringing a BYOD approach to WISS that students will see technology as a partner in their learning and recognize the importance of digital citizenship and online ethical behaviors attached to technology use.
(The article is contributed by Doreen Garrigan, Primary School principal at Western International School of Shanghai.）
Critical to invest in teachers’ professional progress
Every teacher I know has at some point used at least one technology tool in his/her teaching practices, whether it’s an activity, the usage of a learning management system, sharing of online documents or a simple online tool for content enrichment and review.
Ever since the first overhead projector was used in a classroom back in the 1930s (and the term “educational technology” was first coined in the 1960s), many different technologies have invaded the education space. This has allowed educators — who wanted to offer distinct and differentiated content — to employ alternative approaches to learning.
These tools have helped many education professionals to change and improve students’ learning processes. However, EdTech can be a big challenge for teachers, who require a broader and longer learning curve to master its extensive list of resources and to apply proper policies and implementation strategies.
Luiz Zicarelli is head of ICT department at Senior School of Shanghai Singapore International School.
The benefits of using EdTech tools are clear, and not limited to what we still call formal learning environments. The internet has become the most important educational tool nowadays, and smartphones are now powerful enough to handle long and real-time connections anywhere.
The current generation of students know how to make use of tech tools anytime, anywhere to the point that becomes second-nature.
This is a totally different scenario to what teachers faced previously. Some of the more experienced teachers are digital immigrants and have adapted to learn how to operate and benefit from technology, to transform it into powerful educational tools, and thereby altering teaching as a profession.
Nowadays, if there is no technology or something beyond simple data and knowledge transfer in the classroom, students become easily bored.
Thus it’s critical to invest in teachers’ professional development with regards to technology. They should be able to use coding, design, design thinking, productivity tools, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and virtual reality to teach all types of lessons.
Enabling educators to use the available and future tools becomes transformational and empowering. And the fact is, a happy teacher makes teaching and learning experiences far more pleasurable, engaging and satisfying.
At the same time, it also enriches any institution’s program and curriculum and helps bring the community together.
(The article is contributed by Luiz Zicarelli, head of ICT department at Senior School of Shanghai Singapore International School.）
