Evaluating current and future educational technology trends and tools to determine their educational impact is beyond important for learners' success. A lot of the technological tools that I come across or am presented with I prefer to explore the platform on my own from the student's point of view before determining whether it will be a good fit for my classroom. Some of the things to consider when evaluating whether or not the technological tool will have a positive impact on your learners is to ask yourself does the program provide an opportunity for my students to grow? Does the program provide some sense of motivation for the students to keep going? Are there incentives for correct answers? When they work through the program, is there something that re-teaches or explains wrong answers? All of these are important in ensuring the tool is beneficial to a student's learning experience. Some tools can be used to reiterate what you’ve taught while also expanding or enriching the knowledge of the learner.
As we continue to move forward in this digitally enhanced world we see trends such as AI coming into play for all types of reasons. It has also been recognized for its possible uses in technology. I have had conversations with colleagues regarding the possibility of teachers or all jobs for that matter potentially being replaced with AI. Some of these technology tools can make you nervous about the direction in which our world is headed. However, this is why we need to stay up to date on the new technological trends and how they can affect us in more ways than the education field.
In my current work setting, I have used numerous digital tools to support my student's learning experience throughout my years of teaching. Some of the tools include:
Zearn
Education Galaxy which is now Progress Learning
Dreambox
IXL
Schoology (LMS)
CommonLit
Kahoot
Nearpod
BrainPop
PebbleGO
Prodigy
Edulastic
I have enjoyed using almost all of these technological tools within my classroom. Based on the listed applications, my top three tools would have to be Zearn, Progress Learning, and Kahoot. Zearn was beneficial based on the Math adoption we had using lessons from a program called Eureka. Zearn was able to elaborate and provide extra practice for students' learning based on each lesson taught. The program had a direct alignment with the Eureka curriculum. Progress Learning had a direct alignment with the Texas TEKS, therefore it also helped to equip the skills and they were able to play a rocketship game after each question they answered correctly. You could also build assignments or tests for specific individuals or your entire class. Once students mastered all the concepts you had the choice to boost them to the next grade. Lastly, Kahoot is an all-time favorite just because kids can practice skills and they have a blast while doing it because they can compete for first, second, or third place based on correct questions answered and how fast they answer them.
References
Ted Talks. (2013). Sugatra Mitra. Build a School in the Cloud. YouTube video: https://youtu.be/y3jYVe1RGaU?si=FUYjvhEI5W2eZ1QB.
Ted Talks. (2015). Dobrowolski, P. Draw your future - Take control of your life. Youtube video: https://youtu.be/4vl6wCiUZYc?si=xmjRqTICPh6HGkbJ
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