M3B3: Leveraging Tools, Texts, and Talk in My Teaching Context

    As a global history teacher, I often find myself using a variety of non-digitized sources to enhance the overall message and meaning of the lesson. However, with the massive increase in technology and social media, attempting to just use print-based media and literacies has become challenging. It is imperative that we, as educators, find a way to balance the usage of technology and print based media and literacies. In the article The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy, Thomas Philip and Antero Garcia bring up incredible points about the misconceptions that come along with digital literacies and introducing technology into the classroom. Philip and Garcia state “The context, not the tool, is what is important when making decisions about utilizing new technology within learning environments. Simply making a mobile device available to students or using these devices to study issues important to them does not bridge relevancy between the students' multiple worlds.” (Philips and Garcia, 2013). This is a relevant point and highlights the importance of engaging with students beyond the use of technology. As educators, we must be able to create thoughtful and engaging lessons without relying on technology. Technology does not automatically give us the tools in order to connect to students' backgrounds and experiences, which is vital to ensure we are designing equitable learning for our students. Being able to navigate conversations around technology with students could be challenging, as most students have grown up with technology and see it as a vital part of their lives. I believe having open and honest discussions with the students and listening to their perspectives on technology use in the classroom is an effective way to navigate around technology reliance. I feel if my students and I can communicate, and I express to them the concerns with technology and why the balance between that and traditional mediums is important, I believe it can create a balanced classroom environment. The need for constant check-ins will also be necessary if technology is used in the classroom, ensuring students are on task and not distracted. Ultimately, it comes down to the goal and what we are trying to achieve from our students. Once that is settled, I believe we can assess what types of literacy strategies should be used for that lesson. In the article Nondigital Skills, by Antero Garcia, he states “Although digital tools can help document the world in newly nuanced ways and demonstrate new perspectives, digital literacies often primarily heighten the analog demands we have in our learning goals. In our classrooms, this means emphasizing what experiences you want students to engage with, regardless of the kinds of technologies used.” This highlights the idea that students' needs are first and having them attain the goal of the lesson is necessary. Assessing the tools we need to achieve the goal is secondary.

    If educators go into the classroom with the mindset that technology can be a tool for use when relevant, but not the focal point of a lesson, we can create thoughtful and literate students. A way in which we can do this is through assignments that have them engage with technology, but do not solely rely on it. An example of this could be to have students examine the differing language/bias that exists within print-based media versus digital media. This could be done in a lesson about the development and evolution of propaganda, or the development of journalism, and utilizes online media as a tool, without having it be the focal point of the lesson. I believe that this helps students navigate the technology, without relying on it to get their answers. The assignment also allows students to think critically about what they are reading, and highlights to them that language usage between differing mediums is present. However, there are challenges involved with this assignment. Firstly, there may be equity concerns with students who do not have access to online mediums at home. This can create a challenge in the classroom and would require help and guidance during the assignment. Long with this, Philips and Garcia state, “Instruments initially intended for convenience can easily shift in usage to become data-gathering tools” (Philips and Garcia, 2023). To avoid the problems with students beginning to take advantage of their electronic devices in the classroom, the need for constant check-ins is essential. These check-ins should be done for two reasons; one, to ensure the students are on task and two, to ensure the students understand why and how they are to be using their electronics. 

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Refrences

Garcia, A. (2017). NONDIGITAL SKILLS. Literacy Today, 35(3), 24-25. 

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Philip, T. M., & Garcia, A. D. (2013). The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New 

Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 83(2), 

300-319,400-401. 

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