Bill Gates once said, “Technology is just a tool. The teacher is most important in getting the kids working together and motivating them.” As a classroom teacher and school administrator, I have witnessed first-hand the important role of teachers. The job has certainly not gotten any easier, and in some cases, it is even more demanding than ever before. Technology has given teachers many tools to streamline processes and connect us remotely and globally. With more and more digital tools being introduced daily, even the most veteran teacher must pause to examine what digital tool is best. Which digital tool produces the desired outcome that meets the lesson objective? Is there a limit to digital tools one should use at any given time? From research to grading, from instruction to delivery, from questioning to assessing, from creating to problem-solving – and everything in between, teachers have access to so many tools it becomes hard to keep them straight. In my present role, I was researching something for a project and came across “The Teachers’ Guide to Tech” (Gonzales, 2022) and could not put it down before I knew it was 300 pages later. This guide is updated and published yearly as a handbook to the “latest” and “greatest.” This guide provides chapters on working remotely/ hybrid, subject and grade-specific tools, troubleshooting tips, and what you can legally do regarding copyright and publishing rules. The guide’s best section is how the author identifies each digital tool and provides a substantial description of its features, how to use it, and how it can be applied within the classroom. A lot of the researching (or some may say searching) for the tool is already done for you since the author has taken the initiative to sort through the good (or not-so-good) digital tools out there. As the educator, you are left with a streamlined list of favorite digital tools evaluated and “vetted” by a team of education professionals. In addition, “The Teachers’ Guide to Tech” is written in “teacher language” and is not so technical or scientific to understand. To my friends who are not as tech-savvy as they hope to be, this book will not intimidate but rather empower them to make informed choices about what digital tools to use – and when.
As I was reading this book, I discovered digital tools that I rely on, ones that I have heard of but have yet to use, and some that were completely new to me. As teachers, we are taught to work harder, not smarter, and we reinvent the wheel more times than we need to. Why do we do this? If teaching is an art just as much as it is a science, you think we should have figured out that we can do our best work when we strategize, collaborate, and share ideas.
I thought I would share some of the ideas I learned in this book that will give you the tools to start strategizing and collaborating today. Start small, take baby steps, and take action to move forward.
By continuing to learn, you are modeling what being a teacher is all about – leading by example.
Digital Tools 101 This Tool is Used For ________________.
Today (Procrastination-Buster)
Being productive – Time Management
Equity Maps
Increase Class and Student Participation
Talking Points
Parent Communication App that can be translated into over 100 languages
Google Similar Pages (Chrome Extension)
Gives you a list of sites similar to the one you’re on at that time.
Kaizena (web app and Google Docs Add-On)
Allows you to give voice feedback
Infogram (When you want your words to be in a visual picture format)
Infographic Maker – Create your own.
OneTab (Google Extension)
Gathers all your open tabs and puts them in a list without closing them.
Zamzar (Free)
Document/File converter
Kajeet
Provide Portable wi-fi spots to schools
Herron, J., & Wolfe, K. A. (2021). University Innovation Hubs & Technology-Enhanced Learning in K12 Environments. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 65(3), 320–330. https://lynn-lang.student.lynn.edu:2092/10.1007/s11528-020-00575-4.