Do you ever feel like you are doing more entertaining than teaching?
Teachers in today’s tech savvy society have to achieve what Katie Lepi’s article, “7 Characteristics of a Digitally Competent Teacher,” refers to as “balance.” In other words, simply using technology in the classroom is not sufficient nor desirable. In short, teachers must use technology with a purpose that works for both them and their students. Rather than just showing off, educators must prove that they are legitimate in that they appreciate, understand, and incorporate technology into both their private lives and their classrooms.
Lepi outlines 7 ways that teachers can prove themselves worthy of “digital competence.” They are, briefly, as follows:
- integrate technology into their private lives
- have tech balance
- try new stuff but use only what works
- participate in digital communication
- use digital assessments
- respect privacy
- behave appropriately
Lepi stresses the idea of “digital citzenship,” by which I assume she means that technology is a tool that the educator understands from a variety of perspectives and uses in all aspects of his/her own life.
I have found that my students are impressed that I encourage them to use technology, nearly any kind, in all of their presentations and assignments. Even though I may not be familiar with the technology they choose and despite the fact that some of them can use it better than I can, I am willing to put myself out there and let them explore. I have actually started to use “entertaining” technology less frequently and have focused more on educational technology over the past few years. I noticed that my students were unimpressed by my use of fun tech because they are practically inundated with it in their private lives. Instead, they enjoy things like Prezi, Polleverywhere, library databases, and Google Scholar that have an actual application to their lives as students. I have learned, though, that spur-of-the-moment technology can be hit or miss in the classroom, so I try to begin any such attempts with a warning that my experiment may or may not work. Often, my students can get it to work when I cannot, and for some reason, they always seem to expect extra credit for it.
Teaching with tech is not a competitive sport. Lepi makes valid points, especially about maintaining balance between traditional methods of presentation and technology. Who ever said it has to be all or nothing?
Work Cited
Lepi, Katie. “7 Characteristics of a Digitally Competent Teacher.” Edudemic. 27 June 2014. Web. 30 June 2014.
the reading and writing teacher 