Embracing Technology in Education

Today is National Teachers’ Day and I would like to thank all teachers!

As a teacher, you directly impact and empower so many people. Teaching is one of the most important jobs, yet it’s one that often goes underappreciated. Not everyone understands the amount of extra time and effort that you put in, or how much you care about your students.

One evolving aspect of education which I’m passionate about is educational technology. Incorporating technology in education has been difficult. It’s expensive, constantly evolving, and with so many tools available, it’s hard to determine which technologies are best to utilize.

Although technology prevents some challenges, I believe it’s critical for educators to embrace it. If used correctly, it can improve teacher efficiency, create a more engaged learning experience, and helps our students develop important digital literacy skills.

I want to share four thoughts I have regarding technology in education.

1. It’s too important to avoid – I’ve heard many teachers claim that they don’t need technology in order to teach effectively. This may be true, but technology is going to play an important role in our students’ lives and careers. The content required for your class is important for students to learn, but so are basic technology skills.

2. Not all technology is too expensive – Funding is often one of the biggest roadblocks to incorporating technology in the classroom. It’s important to realize that there are a lot of inexpensive or free tools, software, and apps out there. Utilize tools like Google Drive, Microsoft Office Online, Evernote, Canva, Audacity, and many others, as ways to incorporate technology for free.

3. Engage students in deeper learning – Having students apply the knowledge and skills they’re learning in your class is a great way to help them understand and retain the information more effectively. Engage them by having them create websites, videos, podcasts, infographics and more, showcasing their understanding of the content you are teaching. Not only will this help them understand your content at a deeper level, but they will develop critical digital literacy skills along the way.

4. How are teachers supposed to learn about all of this technology? - This is the concern that I hear most often from educators. Many are hesitant to incorporate technology in class because they don't' know how to use it. It’s okay if you don’t understand all of the technology, though. In fact, it would be impossible to understand all of the technology.

There are many ways you can empower students to learn about the technology. The LinkedIn Learning library is an example of this. As the educator, you are the expert in the subject area content. You don’t need to be the one who teaches all of the technology that students want to use to create their projects, though. Assigning students trustworthy video training is a great way for them to learn about how to utilize technology to demonstrate their understanding of the content knowledge. It also helps them improve their self-directed learning skills, which may be the most important skill they will need moving forward.