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Educational Technology
Emily Hubbard
4/12/2018
Carson Newman University
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Educational Technology can be defined as many different things. To me educational

technology is the use of different technology tools or devices to aid students during their learning

experience. I wrote in a previous paper that I have always heard that “children are our future, and

we need to educate them the best we can” (Emily Hubbard). A student’s educational learning

will happen during their 12 years in school. As educators we need to do our best and use

technology and other sources to help them be prepared for the future.

Today’s technology is always changing, and it has become a big part of education.

Teachers are using technology to create lesson plans, activities, and to keep up with grades. As

educators we want to give students the opportunity to use electronic devices wither it be a laptop

or iPad, we need to give them a chance to learn how to use technology independently. We need

to give students enough time to use technology, so that they will confident using the materials

without help. Over time we want to be able to show students different ways to use technology to

complete assignments or projects. I want students to take the proper use of technology and apply

it to their own personal use of technology when they are not in school. Teachers are pulling out

extra materials such as videos and games to help make lessons more engaging. Videos help

students visualize the material that is being covered. Videos can also give more information that

the teacher has a lot more interesting for the students to learn about. As a teacher there are some

videos that students can watch to help students learn about skills they will be learning about that

will benefit them in the future when they begin to use technology.

The way teachers are teaching and students are learning is constantly changing. Teachers

are using technology to come up with creative lesson plans. Teachers are using technology to

find different ways to engage students and teacher lessons so that it will benefit all learning
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styles. As students begin to use technology more there are some skills that would be beneficial

for them to learn. The Tech Advocate published an article titled “8 Essential Digital Literacy

Skills That Students Need” by Matthew Lynch (www.thetechedvocate.org). One skill that the

article suggests is collaboration. The article says “students should be taught basic project

management and group work essentials to navigate between multiple platforms”

(www.thetechedvocate.org). Another skills that will benefit students in the future career would

be to know how to work word processing software. There are a lot of different word processing

materials such as, drop box, Microsoft online, and Google suite. Each one of these word

processing materials work differently, and students need a chance to use all of them so they can

personally understand how they work. When students graduate high school or college and go out

to get a job, they don’t know what material or tools their boss is going to want them to use. The

final skill that I think students need to learn to be successful is how to use social media the

proper ways. Social media can be used to boosts business, and high school students could use it

in their economic classes. Social media is a good tool to use when you need to get people to take

surveys, because twitter or Facebook can reach a large number of people. There are a large

number of skills students need to learn, the ones I mentioned are just a few that stood out to me.

Along with these skills students need to know how to properly use the internet to better

themselves. If they are using social media they need to know the proper ways to use it because

what they post or share will be there forever, even when they go to get a job. As a teacher I want

my students to know that what they put out there on the internet will also be there.

Constructivism is another piece of educational technology that helps teachers think about

the lessons they are creating. An article on learning-theories.com discusses constructivism. The

article describes constructivism as “knowledge based on personal experiences and hypotheses of

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the environment” (www.learning-theories.com/constructivism). To me constructivism has also

been students gaining their own knowledge thorough their own experiences. When I create my

lessons I want to think about constructivism because it can help me write a lesson that can be

engaging for all learning styles. I want to make sure as a teacher I do activities and projects that

could benefit active, kinesthetic, and visual learners. Including technology into my lesson design

can help me stay organized, and it would also give me a chance to expand and get more

information on what I am teaching.

Five years into my teaching career I hope to use technology daily to help students

develop skills they will be able to use throughout their educational experiences. I want to help

students learn the proper way to use different pieces of technology to help them complete

assignments. During the day in my classroom I will teach on a certain things throughout the day,

and at the end of the day use Kahoot.com to let the students review what they learned. If I am

teaching in upper grade, I would assign partner projects about a certain topic. I would let students

partner up and get a computer and let them choose Google slides, PowerPoint, Emaze or another

tool to help them create a presentation over the topic assigned. If I am teaching in Pre-K or

kindergarten class I will use an interactive white board and activities where the students can

come up and answer questions. ISTE standards for educators has a few standards that I think

repents skills for us as teachers that we need when it comes to using technology. One standard

the ISTE website talks about is citizen which says “educators inspire students to positively

contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital word” (ISTE Standards for Educators).

ISTE standard 3c talks about us as educators we need to show students the legal practices with

digital tools and how to protect themselves. ISTE standard for students is digital citizen. Students

need to be taught their rights and responsibilities, and the need to know the proper ways to use
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technology. Digital Citizen Standard 2 says” cultivate and manage their digital identity and

reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world” (ISTE Student

Standards). Another ISTE standard for educators I think would benefit us as educators would be

collaborator. The website says “educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and

students to improve practice, discover, and share resource ideas, and solve problems” (ISTE

Standards for Educators). Standard 4a talks about how it is important for teachers to make time

to collaborate with other teachers to create the best learning experiences by using technology.

Standard 4c talks about how teachers can use collaborative tools to helps students experience

different parts of the world through virtual experts from all of the world. ISTE student standard

also says students need to learn to be global collaborator. The website says “students use digital

tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and

working effectively in teams locally and globally” (ISTE Student Standards). ISTE standard 6

facilitator which suggests “educators facilitate learning with technology to support student

achievement of the ISTE standards for students” (ISTE Standards for Educators). This standard

basically says as teachers it is our job to manage students’ use of technology in certain digital

platforms, and to create learning experiences that can challenge students. ISTE standard 3 for

students talks about students being knowledge constructors. The website says “students use a

variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and

make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others” (ISTE Student Standards). I

think the ISTE standards for educators I discussed are important skills for teachers of the 21st

century. We need to know all of the ISTE standards but the ones I talked about I think are

important for all teachers and students to know about, so they know that there are proper ways to

use technology before they begin to use it.

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In my future classroom, I want technology to have a positive influence on my students. I

feel that if I let students rely too much on technology, that they won’t develop certain real life

skills they need. I can use technology to help students show what they are learning and it can

help me understand just how much they are comprehending. Along with showing me what

students are learning there are many benefits to using technology. One benefit I have personally

seen when it comes to using technology in classrooms is increased student behavior. “25 Ways

that EdTech Benefits Teachers and Students” by Matthew Lynch says that “kids love technology,

and incorporating it into lessons gets students excited about learning” (25 Ways that EdTech

Benefits Teachers and Students, 2017).

To me educational technology is using different technology tools or devices to aid

students during their learning experience. Technology is always changing. Educators are always

finding new ways to use technology in their classrooms. Technology is important for all students

to know how to use. Letting students use technology can help them develop skills that they need

and can use throughout their lives.

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Works Cited

8 Essential Digital Literacy Skills That Students Need. (2017, August 13). Retrieved April 11,

2018, from http://www.thetechedvocate.org/8-essential-digital-literacy-skills-students

need/

Constructivism. (2016, September 08). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from

https://www.learning-theories.com/constructivism.html

25 Ways that EdTech Benefits Teachers and Students. (2017, March 11). Retrieved April 11,

2018, from http://www.thetechedvocate.org/25-ways-that-edtech-benefits-teachers-and-

students/

ISTE Standards FOR EDUCATORS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from

https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-

students