Taking Baby Steps: Big Ideas for Integrating Technology This School Year

As I prepare for my new position as the Instructional Technology Specialist for a local school district, I've been cleaning out the files, notes, and curriculum ideas that I've accumulated over the last three years.  Many of the things I've re-discovered I'm planning to take with me, especially this memo I wrote in June 2013 to the staff of my old school.  I had just completed my second year teaching technology and assisting teachers with the steady and gradual integration of technology across the curriculum.  To keep the momentum going over the summer, I offered the following suggestions to my colleagues.  And even though it's two years old, it's still pretty relevant today as we educators continue to work to prepare our students for college and career.

Here's the memo for you to review and pass on to your network, too:

We need to narrow the gap between what we know and what our students know when it comes to technology.  The reality is that our students are connected, and they shouldn’t have to 'power down' when they enter the classroom.

With that said, here are some things to think about over the summer and try to implement for next year.  

• Start SMALL so that mastery is achieved and your confidence builds.  Choose one app/program/platform you’d like to try and incorporate it into a lesson plan that you’ve already developed.

• Flip the classroom:  Have students watch the lecture online for homework (YouTube, TeacherTube, WatchKnow, Khan Academy, and neok12.com) and use class time for review, answering of questions, mentoring, discussion, and classwork.  Again, choose a current unit/lesson plan.

• Plan to book the computer lab/laptops/iPads at least once a week NO MATTER what you’re doing in the classroom. There are tons of resources out there to supplement learning.  Just Google it! 

• Check out the "learning" tab on my website for ideas to try in your classroom this fall.  

• Subscribe via RSS feed or email to ONE EdTech blog.  Think about how to incorporate these ideas into an already-established lesson plan.

These are baby steps, designed to get you started in a small but meaningful way, and that's always a good place to start.  If you have ANY questions or need ANY help, don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.  Otherwise, I’ll see you in August!

Even though the school year is now gearing up, it's not too late to pick one of the suggestions above and invigorate your teaching.  Take "baby steps" to integrate technology into your curriculum; you can't run until you crawl first!

Speaking of baby steps, I just recently delivered three workshops designed to assist teachers in making the leap from 20th century to 21st century learning, so please check them out.

Good luck, have an amazing school year, and let me know how this advice works for you!

image courtesy of Flickr

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