Module 1 - Technological Innovation in Schools

Technology Isn't a "Magic Bullet"

1. Technology, over the past 30 years, has changed the climate of classroom learning dramatically. 
2. With the comeuppance of this technology, educators found different ways to incorporate it into learning, including Blended Learning and 1:1 Learning.
3. Today's students have grown up with technology, so it's a natural extension of their environments. 
4. However, some students may not be able to use this technology in their education correctly. This is either due to a Digital Divide, or the student not having access in the school setting, or a Digital Use Divide, or the way the technology is used.
5. Many different models have been designed to help educators think about the ways that they use technology, one of them being SAMR - The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model. 
6. SAMR can "help teachers increase their awareness of how they are using technology and to design intentional uses of technology targeting the modification or redefinition models."
7. Many educators are calling for development of these technological skills to help them prepare for their future that inevitably include technology. 
8. There are many standards that have been produced to help this initiative, including ones for Students, for Teachers, and for Local, STate, and National Leaders. 
9. With all of these pushes, technology of course has been adopted, but it's seen sometimes as a "magic bullet" that automatically helps any classroom.
10. We, as educators, have to know how to implement technology to make sure it actually doesn't hinder our classroom, and we have to know how to use it correctly.