Thank you to everyone who has been engaging with the #threequestions series. I’ve been finding it really interesting and it appears many of you are too. I’ll be continuing the series throughout the rest of the summer and will compile the results at the end in to an iBook / PDF for you to compare all of the different stories and thoughts. Thanks too to @terryfreedman for his thoughts here.
If you’ like to have your say, why not answer the questions yourself here.
Today’s response is from @AimeeCasson. Many thanks to her for taking the time to feedback.
A bit about yourself:
I’m Head of English at a comprehensive 11-16 school in Huddersfield and have taught for 13 years.
1. What place, if any, has technology got in education?
Think it has become of increasing importance. Failure to engage leaves teachers behind the times. Obviously essential now for teachers to be proficient in technology if they are to survive and thrive. In the classroom, technology is playing an important role for the teacher (smart boards and the like) but also for students who demand engaging ways of learning in the manner they are most comfortable (we now have class sets of iPads). The more slick technology is becoming, the easier is is to incorporate into education, however, for the classroom teachers need to avoid the danger of using technology as a gimmick which is counter-productive to deep learning. Teachers shouldn’t feel pressured into using technology in lessons if the outcome could be better with other teaching and learning methods.
2. What’s your favourite edtech tool for learning and why?
Don’t know if it counts but PowerPoint is my most used and essential tool in order to structure my lessons and enable smooth transitions between lesson parts in an unobtrusive way. I’ve recently started using my ipad in lessons so am a novice but I use the free NameSelector app and ClassTimer append they are both really helpful. I’m interested in clickers but as yet I can’t work out how to use it.
3. What are your thoughts on students using mobile devices in the classroom?
This is something I do regularly. We have a spoken language unit at GCSE where students explore their language use in a variety of social media platforms so students use their phones often. I’ve started using QR codes this term and whilst these are generally for out of class use I let students access them in lessons if they ask. It does make me a little uncomfortable that I can’t monitor exactly what they are doing though. For the first time this last academic year, I had Year 11 students requesting to read their GCSE set texts on their own kindles/iPads in class, which I allowed, as they would rather take their notes and highlight sections in this manner.
Thanks to Aimee for taking the time to respond to the #threequestions. More tomorrow!
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