By Karey Wengert - Anderson School District One
Summary: The increasing use of technology in classrooms requires a thoughtful approach to ensure it enhances learning rather than distracts from it. Educators should clarify the purpose of tech tools, use data to guide their decisions and follow recommended usage guidelines to maximize effectiveness. To limit passive consumption, it's important to set boundaries, alternate between screen-based and traditional activities, and encourage reflection on how technology supports learning. Additionally, students should be taught critical thinking about technology through lessons on digital citizenship, media literacy, and understanding algorithms. Technology should be used intentionally to complement good teaching practices and not replace them.
Step into any modern classroom, and you’re bound to encounter technology in nearly every corner. From laptops to smart boards, tablets to educational apps, the integration of technology into education has been rapid and widespread. By 2021, an impressive 90% of middle and high school students and 84% of elementary school students had access to their own devices in class.1 As this shift towards one-to-one device use becomes the norm, it is essential to take a step back and consider what goals we hope to achieve through this technology. How do we use technology intelligently? How do we make sure it is used as a tool for learning, and not just a digital babysitter?
The key lies in finding the balance - embracing the benefits that technology offers while staying intentional about its use. Here’s how educators can ensure that students are using technology purposefully and effectively in the classroom.
Clarify the Purpose and Identify the Outcomes
Before introducing any technological tool, educators must ask themselves three crucial questions:
(1)What problem am I trying to solve by using this technology?
(2)Does the data support students engaging with this platform?
(3)How does the tool’s recommended usage align with my educational goals?
Clarifying these questions ensures that technology serves a meaningful purpose.
Problem-solving: Before integrating technology, educators should identify the challenge or limitation they aim to address. This ensures the tool is being used with intention rather than as a default solution or distraction. For example, tools like Google Docs, Microsoft Teams, and Seesaw facilitate real-time collaboration between students, teachers, and even parents at home more effectively than pen-and-paper assignments allow. These platforms help solve a problem that traditional assignments cannot.
Data Support: Platforms like iReady, Freckle, IXL, and others align and adapt content to meet individual student needs. These programs, used for the time period that the companies indicate as effective, help bridge learning gaps and push advanced learners to excel. However, no matter what program or activity is used with technology, it is important to look back and analyze the data. Consider creating a recurring calendar alert to dive into student progress and data to ensure they receive appropriate time and focus on programs.
Recommended Usage: Most reputable tools, especially adaptive ones, have recommended usage guidelines designed to optimize their effectiveness. Keeping students engaged on the tool or platform longer than the recommended time has diminishing returns. Educators should search for these recommendations and evaluate whether they align with their specific instructional goals to ensure purposeful implementation.
By aligning technology use with specific goals, teachers can maximize its impact and maintain focus on meaningful educational outcomes.
Use Clear Guidelines to Limit Passive Consumption
Most of us have experienced losing track of time scrolling through social media or watching videos online. While engaging, these activities often fail to promote critical thinking or deeper learning - and the same risk exists in the classroom. Watching videos or playing games might keep students compliant, but it doesn’t engage their minds and doesn’t promote learning or critical thinking. To ensure technology remains a learning tool rather than a convenient distraction, clear guidelines are essential.
Set Time Limits: Alternate between tech-based and traditional activities to prevent students from spending extended periods staring at screens. Even highly interactive educational programs can become mindless or disengaging when overused.
Establish Device-Free Zones: When devices are no longer in use, put them away! Have a designated area of the classroom or student space where students can store devices while not in use. Provide students with a clear understanding that technology in the classroom is used for a specific purpose, and when that purpose is achieved, it is time to put it away. This reinforces the idea that technology has a specific role and time for use.
Encourage Mindful Engagement: Teach students to reflect on how they interact with technology. Consider asking questions such as: What did you learn from this activity? How did the technology we used help you learn? Reflection fosters a more intentional and thoughtful approach to screen time.
By setting boundaries and encouraging self-awareness, educators can help students use technology as an active participant in their learning journey.
Encourage Critical Thinking about Technology
Beyond teaching students how to use technology, schools have a responsibility to help students think critically about its use. Consider incorporating lessons or activities on digital citizenship and media literacy, equipping students with the skills to navigate the digital world responsibly and thoughtfully.
Evaluate Online Sources: In a world flooded with information, the ability to identify credible sources is invaluable. Educators can use resources like the Digital Literacy Project to help students examine the reliability and accuracy of online content.
Understand the Role of Algorithms: Social media platforms and search engines rely on algorithms to shape the content we see. Teaching students what an algorithm is and how social media and other platforms can use them to influence what they see online can help them recognize bias and make informed choices about the information they consume. The News Literacy Project has a great introduction to algorithms as part of their free Checkology resources.
Encourage Digital Citizenship: Emphasizing the importance, even for younger students, of online etiquette, privacy, and the consequences of digital footprints prepares students for life in an increasingly online world. Common Sense Education provides ready-to-use lessons on topics such as cyberbullying, data privacy, and respectful communication.
Encouraging critical thinking about technology empowers students to use it responsibly and to appreciate both its opportunities and its limitations.
The Bottom Line: Intentionality Is Key
Technology is a powerful tool, but it is no substitute for human connection, creativity, critical thinking, and good pedagogy. When educators approach technology use with intention, it can enhance learning without taking over the classroom. This means using technology to enhance - not replace - the core principles of good teaching. We must all examine our motivations in using technology, and find the balance between engaging entertainment and powerful instruction.
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About the Author
Karey Wengert is a certified Google Educator and Apple Teacher serving as a Digital Learning Coach for Anderson School District One in Williamston, SC. With a passion for integrating technology in authentic and research-based ways, she helps educators sprinkle a little digital fairy dust into their classrooms. Connect with Karey on X and Bluesky @KareyTechFairy
1 From Bushweller, K. (2022, May 17). What the Massive Shift to 1-to-1 Computing Means for Schools. EducationWeek. https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-the-massive-shift-to-1-to-1-computing-means-for-schools-in-charts/2022/05
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