Hello fellow bloggers!
What a time to be alive (literally, thank you God for my good health)! It’s a crazy world we are living in. I hope this post finds you well and you are keeping safe and healthy!
When we started this semester, I knew this course on educational technology was going to have useful, practical application…. However, I didn’t think it would come in handy quite so soon in my career! And to think I’m not even in my own classroom yet!
With schools closed, great implications have arisen for students not being able to continue their regular classroom learning. Within the last two weeks, it’s been amazing to see so many of my fellow teachers (both those I am friends with and those I have had the pleasure of being hosted by in my placement schools) using new and familiar pieces of technology to keep in contact with their students and to get them through this time.
While many of us often have complaints about the implications technology has in our lives (constant connectedness to each other through social media, cyber bullying, distracted students etc), this is one of those instances where many of us are thankful for the technological tools that exist. Without it, our classes would not be able to continue! Who knows what would have happened to our semester had we not had access to Canvas Conferences! Even outside of school, I have found myself searching and using technology to create new digital lessons for my sacrament students, so they can keep up with their preparations. I have had youth ministry team meetings over Zoom and have celebrated mass every Sunday over Livestream! It’s so amazing to see how technology has expanded into so many different realms that we never even contemplated utilizing prior to all of this.
Technology can be overwhelming, but it is in times like these when we realize how important it is for our students to know how to operate it. We need to facilitate opportunities for students to get comfortable with technology and use it seamlessly, in this ever changing world. One of the cool pieces of technology we learned about this week is Augmented Reality. There are so many platforms out there for teachers and students that use augmented reality. Students can practice creativity, literacy skills and experience the world around them, near and far!
We need to ensure that our students understand the power of technology when we have them use technology. It’s a great big world out there and the digital sphere is no exception; If we don’t teach our students to understand the power of their posts and the power of the tools they use, we are not setting them up for success.
-Katarina , GROUP C
Ps! Our class today explored Google 3D Augmented Reality with animals today! I’ve always wanted a dog… I guess this is the closest I’ll get to having a one for now 🙂
Cohort B 