Mayor de Blasio stated that, in an effort to ensure that every child has the opportunity to develop skills needed not only to succeed in the workforce of the future, but even to enter and succeed within New York City’s rapidly growing technology sector, every school in the city will be required to offer computer science courses to students—regardless of their age.
Technology is not something tangible you can pick up and put down as you please. It’s not a defined, solid object. And, as the world transitions into a tech-first approach to solving many of its most pressing problems, technology is no longer an option. It’s a tool that can be used to solve these daily problems and students need additional skills.
Could you type an essay blindfolded? Maybe, but even with all the hours you spend sitting on a swivel chair and punching keys, there’s almost no chance you could get through, say, a two-page paper scot free if you’re not looking at the text. What if you were asked to type the same two-page essay on your mobile phone? Could you do that?
For many teachers, using educational technology in the classroom is the norm. For the vast majority of today’s educators, however, it’s a headache-inducing afterthought. The fact is, however, that using technology to teach necessary concepts in a modern fashion has its advantages. The issue isn’t really with what teachers teach, but more with how they teach.
There’s so much that goes into a successful EdTech rollout and not all of it comes from the effectiveness of the products. We’ve outlined how to use technology to create the most memorable learning experiences possible and who teachers should connect with in order to become tech teaching experts! Explore that and more in this week’s post.
In today’s world of education, there are certain skills that all students must learn and certain ways of learning that many classroom educators feel are necessary to accomplish those goals. Though it has often been compared to a spectator sport for much of, well, forever, learning isn’t an experience that is best carried out from the sidelines, especially in today’s climate.
Just like us regular people, teachers often make New Year’s resolutions, too. They could be something like spending more time on a particular topic or even taking more time for yourself! We hope you resolve to use more technology in the classroom to engage kids in more meaningful learning but, if that’s not your forte, here other suggestions!
One way to introduce students to STEM is to make it fun while they learn key skills through active interaction. Digital curricula are a great idea, especially if you can learn from educators who have initiated similar journeys. There are so many projects and fun activities students can do right in the classroom or take home for collaboration outside school.
So much has been made about the need for kids to learn with technology as early on as elementary school to prepare them for the real world. Many schools and districts, however, continue to rely on their longtime curricula despite evidence that shows innovation in education is highly beneficial for today’s youth.
Here’s some helpful hints for your reading pleasure. The programming demand—whether for up-and-coming drones or some yet-to-be-established field—is likely to be booming. By programming robots in school, students are able to discover if they have an interest or skills for any of these tech-related careers and learn valuable skills anyway.
