Don't Go Tech Crazy

Learning about TPACK in class, I had my moment of learning this week. Technology is a tool in the classroom, not a learning outcome. This was impactful for me. I have had teachers where they want to use nothing but technology and they throw away all the old ways and then I have had teachers where they won't even touch a keyboard on a computer and never will integrate any form of technology into their lesson plans. Being in the school of education now, I see that when I begin teaching I will have to use technology in my lessons. My kindergarteners will come to school knowing how to do more on a computer than I will ever even begin to know in all my years of education. However, hearing this statement made a lightbulb go off that made me realize that technology, just like books, is merely just a tool that we have the privilege of using now in our classrooms to help our students learn more proficiently. We are not there to let the computers teach our students. If that was the case, we wouldn't have even been hired to do the job. Teachers are needed always no matter how far technology advances. It is our responsibility to learn how to integrate that technology as an advantage to us so we can teach our students in ways that were never thought possible.

This connects to the NCTCS because technology is such a huge part in our society now that it is important for us to see and understand that in order to successfully teach our students we must also use tools that help us do that. Teacher candidate standard 4d states that teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction and to become proficient in that we must integrate technology with instruction to maximize student learning. Meaning, technology is just a small part in the huge puzzle that makes our students succeed. Technology must be integrated with instruction. We can't depend solely on technology nor can we depend solely on our instruction; both need to be present.

For my outside research, I wanted to find ways to integrate technology into my kindergarten classroom that was a little bit different than what they will be used to because let's face it, 5 year old children know more about a computer, iPad, etc. than we could have ever imagined knowing at that age. When we were 5, 3/4 of this stuff wasn't even invented yet and we were more concerned about making sure Mama bought us the 64 pack of crayons with the sharpener. Times are changing and they are changing fast. As a kindergarten teacher, I have to be ready. Here are a few things I found as ways to use technology in my classroom in a way that is different than just giving them an iPad or computer.
1) Use old technology devices in the centers: It's important for our kids to have a wide range of knowledge on what technology looks like today versus what it looked like even just 5 short years ago. Putting a cordless telephone out for the students to explore and play with opens up so many creative juices in their tiny little heads. Many of them might have never even seen a phone that looked like that, so allowing them to make the connections of what all phones can look like will help further their knowledge even more.
2) Combine technology with outside time: iPads are a great tool that we are blessed to be able to utilize in our teaching now. However, we don't want to teach everything off of an iPad and get our students to the point where they rely on sitting in front of a screen all day. Nature walks are a great way to get the students outside, learn and see what is in nature and the iPad allows them to take a picture of it so they can look back at it later and remember what they saw and learned.
3) Model good tech habits: With all the technology available, it will be easy to get in the habit of only wanting to use the technology in the classroom, but it's important for our students to also get experience with holding an actual book and reading it. If we don't continue teaching these techniques to our students then they will become extinct. Also, we can model how to handle gadgets that we use in the classroom by having a certain place in the center where the phone goes and handling it with care just like we would if it was real.
http://www.weareteachers.com/6-hands-on-center-ideas-for-using-technology-in-pre-k-and-kindergarten/

In my classroom, I want my students to be aware of all the technology around them and I want to integrate technology into all my lesson plans, not just because it's a requirement of me as a teacher, but because I see the importance in it. My students will be growing up in a time where technology is almost becoming a necessity to survive. Many people wouldn't know how to function if their cell phone was taken away from them. However, I want to use technology as a tool to help teach my students. I do not want the technology to take over and become the teacher. We have an important job as educators and it's up to us to continue that.