The Bare Minimum Of Technology Integration

The Bare Minimum Of Learning Technology

by TeachThought Staff

What is the bare minimum of learning technology integration in a classroom?

Does it depend on nation, grade level, or content area? Socioeconomic status? Culture? Prevailing local technology use?

Though many teachers remain against reckless #edtech integration, the conversation is clearly shifting from should technology play a central role in the learning process to how should technology be used to promote learning?

Recently, @austin_gagnier8 set out to itemize 15 things every teacher should try this year, a list which @sylviaduckworth worked her magic on to create the above graphic. But while the original title of the image (and the collection of ideas it illustrate) works well, looking at it more closely, it was dominated by technology use–less about planning and learning models and teaching strategies and grouping activities or unit planning templates, and more about technology.

In that light, we felt like it represented another kind of idea–a bare minimum of technology integration in an average classroom. What might be considered a kind of basic standard for education technology in 2016. In theory, it’s not necessary to have any degree of education technology at all, though even that depends on your content area’s academic standards. (Here is exactly what the Common Core standards say about technology, for example.)

Though numbers 5, 9, and 10 don’t absolutely require learning technology, they’d be all the better with its (strategic) integration.

15 Examples Of What Could Be Considered The Bare Minimum Of Learning Technology

1. Create a class website
2. Create a class YouTube Channel
3. Create a class twitter account and make international accounts
4. Get your students blogging
5. Find other classes to collaborate with on projects
6. Do mystery Skypes/Google Hangouts
7. Invite expert guests via live video conferencing
8. Code with your students
9. Do Genius Hour with your students
10. Gamify your classroom
11. Strive for a paperless classroom (here are 26 iPad apps for a paperless classroom)
12. Create digital portfolios
13. Automate quizzes with Google Forms
14. Use Google Forms for student check-in and exit slips
15. Let students use their device in class

15 Examples Of What Could Be Considered The Bare Minimum Of Learning Technology; 15 Things Every Teacher Should Try This Year; image attribution flickr user sylviaduckworth

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