With today’s students packing cell phones, iPods and laptops as early as third grade, the modern teacher has to compete with electronic devices for their attention.
But technology shouldn’t be seen as an enemy anymore, but rather a teaching tool in disguise. That was the message of keynote speaker Mick Harper, producer and director for InfoSavvy Group, a curriculum consulting company, who opened the Snoqualmie Valley School District’s first Instructional Technology Kick-Off Day, Wednesday, Aug. 25.
“Change is at hand,” he told teachers. “We face a world changing at an incomprehensible speed. We’re dealing with a different type of student.”
The mandatory kick-off seminar included classes on technology skills and ways to integrate new tech into the classroom.
Workshops covered new programs like newTrekker, Windows 7, Office 10, Google Earth, online math lessons and collaborative projects with Wikis.
“As parents, citizens and educators begin to understand that today’s kids are different because of the digital technology exposure, their brains are quickly adapting to new technologies,” Harper said.
To keep up with this adaptation, teachers need to bridge the difference between today’s digital student and yesterday’s traditional way of learning.
“We need to acknowledge, accept and embrace the digital world,” Harper said.
The digital student prefers receiving information quickly, getting more experience compared to the traditional way of teaching material—slow and controlled.
Students also prefer parallel processing and multi-tasking over processing linearly and doing things one at a time.
Students prefer pictures, sounds and video over text, favor access to hyperlinked multi-media information, enjoy working with others, and seek instant gratification and learning what is relevant to their lives in the now.
“Kids are born into a world with technology,” Harper said. “It’s scary stuff for a lot of us, because it’s a change from what we grew up with.”
As educators took in the information, some realized how technology will be a beneficial teaching tool in their classrooms. Others believed a mix of basic and digital education will go a long way.
“This is very interesting,” said Marti Neyland, a fifth grade teacher at Cascade View Elementary. “It has a different perspective of what we keep in mind.
Students still need to know the basics, Neyland said. “We use ActivBoards and we do the Google. I keep trying to take classes to try and learn and make my classroom more efficient and effective.”
“It gets everybody thinking and it’s helpful,” Snoqualmie Elementary second grade teacher Marisa Snyder said of the training. “There’s a balance. A lot of pieces needs to come together for it to become successful. It’s a good jumping off point.”
