What are some effective ways to integrate digital tools into your teaching?

A minimalist approach to adopting digital tools is the best. That is, I prefer to plan small activities with well-defined objectives. For example, I have tried to make the classroom correction of homework assignments more interactive. I ask students to carry out the assigned exercises independently at home, photograph them with their smartphone, and then share them via an appropriate digital tool. In the classroom, I ask some of them to illustrate their work. This activity increases students' motivation, encouraging an active use of digital tools and allowing the teacher to monitor students' progress.

Incorporating digital tools into teaching is crucial in today's technology-driven world. To effectively integrate digital tools, start with a clear objective, choose interactive resources, use collaborative platforms, supplement traditional materials with digital tools, and stay updated with educational technology trends. Align the use of digital tools with instructional goals and choose tools that best suit students' needs. By doing so, you can create a more engaging and enriched learning environment.

When you learn how to use a new digital tool, the urge to use it in the classroom becomes very strong. However, if we are doing it right, there will always be tools in our toolbox that rarely get used. Understanding the objective of the assignment and why you are looking for a digital tool is key. Is the use of the digital tool the objective? Is being able to synthesize something that can't be done any other way the objective? Never lose sight of the outcomes you are striving for, and choose the right tool to enhance that outcome.

Digital tools can allow students to do familiar things in new ways. For example, I have tried to add a digital component to traditional homework. Students carry out their exercises at home in the old-fashioned way, that is, with pen and paper. However, I also ask them to take a picture with their smartphones and share their work with a digital tool like Google Jamboard for a future class discussion. It is a task that allows students to make productive use of their smartphones and, at the same time, increases their motivation.

It should never be about the tool, it should always be about the product. When you get it right, you will realize that the student asking "can I just use a pencil and paper?" isn't a threat to your lesson. As long as their product meets the objectives and intended outcomes, they can use whatever they choose that is appropriate to the task at hand. In this, you are teaching them a valuable life skill.

Lean heavily into evaluating the outcomes and effectiveness of the digtal tool.s in your learning. Both for improving them and ensuring end users are adopting the technology. This is also helpful to avoid "digital overload" where we become enamored with flashy tech and lose sight of effective learning.

As with every lesson you deliver, you must be willing to accept the times it doesn't go right. By reflecting after the activity and being honest with yourself, you can revise to make it better, or get rid of that idea and start working with a new one.

There are so many great digital tools available to support learning. Make sure your tech stack doesn't become so cumbersome that it distracts from learning. Too many different log-ins or having information strewn across a bunch of platforms can degrade from learning instead of supporting it.

I worked in a pioneering 1:1 district many, many years ago. When seniors graduated, we had exit interviews with them and one of our questions was about our use of technology. The first year I participated in these interviews, I was stunned by the number of students who said they wished we had not had technology because it put the computer between them and their teacher. Valuable feedback that allowed us to adjust our staff development to help educators choose the right tools for the right times and also to understand when was the right time to say "laptops closed today".

My favorite part of teaching was to have my students use a rubric to tell me how well (or bad) I was doing. By doing this every grading period, and subsequently adjusting my instruction, my students understood that their experience was most important to me and that their voice would be heard.

Another thing to keep in mind is that tooling does not equal innovation. Don't underestimate the power of hiring great people and embracing constraints, particularly if it's a project with resource constraints (aren't they all?). Whenever it's time to "transform" or "innovate," we all have a habit of looking to the cool new shiney thing. But often times it comes down to fostering an environment where teammates can express their thoughts, views, ideas (even the crazy ones) freely and without fear. Consider this: the most listened to composer in the world created his masterpiece with just three monophonic tone channels and one that could produce white noise: Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. theme. Creative constraints can be powerful.