From "Tech Comfy" to "Tech Savvy"

The incorporation of technology into the school curriculum is a new focus in many systems, including the one in which I teach.  Our students nowadays are digital natives, and they should be provided with the tools they need in order to be successful in the future. We cannot accurately prepare our students for the challenges and lives they will face in the future by using old practices. I, personally, love the fact that I am able to incorporate so much technology into my everyday lessons. My district has implemented a Digital 1:1 Curriculum in which all students are provided access to either and iPad or laptop.  This has definitely changed the way in which teachers present lessons, as well as changed the way in which students receive and learn material. I am now able to be a facilitator of education, rather than a lecturer. Below you will find a video regarding Huntsville City School’s 1:1 Digital Curriculum and the benefits it has provided to our district as a whole. (I will say, I am partial to this video because it was filmed mostly at my school!) 

The incorporation of laptops into my lessons has been a fun and exciting challenge. I have found that a majority of my students are more comfortable learning when technology is used because they are simply comfortable with technology. However, Hicks (2013) raises an interesting perception on technology when quoting Sara Kadjer: “[S]tudents may be ‘tech comfy,’ but they are not necessarily ‘tech savvy.’” This raises a new issue teachers implementing technology must address when teaching. My students are extremely comfortable using their laptops because they play on them so often at home. However, I have to teach my students how to use the technology as an educational tool. (There are even technology standards teachers must abide by, now.)

AL Technology Standards

 Some assume students will automatically know how to proficiently use laptops because they use them at home. This is a false assumption, though. 

One of the biggest struggles my students have when it comes to using their laptops for work is having to write electronically, aka typing. Educators must remember that students do not come to us with the ability to write; that is something they have to be taught. Likewise, students have to be taught the proper way to type. “Clearly, we can teach craft in writing. And we can teach cat in digital writing, too, even though the struggles are perhaps more confounding” (Hicks, 2013). I make a point to type in front of my students daily. They need to see the proper way to sit in a chair and stroke the keys on the keyboard. I also provide ample opportunities and resources to help my students learn the basics of typing. Every Tuesday morning, they’re morning work is to practice typing. They log in to my Padlet page and access any of the typing websites provided there. My favorite website is Typing Tutor, because it shows them how to properly rest their hands on the keyboard, and which fingers should be used to press each key.

In order for students to become digital writing composers, they must perfect the act of typing and keyboarding. Once a child has mastered the ability to type properly, the ease of composing and publishing digital pieces will be much simpler!

References:

[Huntsville AL Chamber]. (2013, May 20). Huntsville City Schools Digital 1:1 Curriculum. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/my0KnWhTDTQ

Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.