Dear Principal, 9/5/17

While our school has excitedly welcomed devices and other technology in to our community, I feel

we are actually missing out on many opportunities provided by educational technology. Students have

access to a world of information and a wealth of knowledge right at their fingertips! We are doing them a

disservice if they are not taught and encouraged to use educational technology to its fullest potential. “The

future of this country is in our classrooms today!” This is the direction our world is going, we must ensure

that our students develop digital citizenship and technological competence in order to send them off as

college ready, career ready, globally competitive students!

Additionally, we are focusing on creating student centered learning environments. With devices

and many educational technology tools, we can provide individualized and customized instruction to

students. No longer are we teaching in a setting where every student must read from the same book and

complete the same written response. Students are more engaged and motivated when given choices and

different options or strategies for problem solving.

Similarly, it is important for teachers to differentiate and deliver instruction in many different ways in

order to meet the needs of all learners. Educational technology has created opportunities for teachers to do

so. Teachers can provide visuals, audio support, virtual field trips and experiences, etc. to ensure all

students are learning in the style that best fits them. In addition, teachers can utilize educational technology

such as VoiceThreads, video instructions, etc. to support students while they are not working directly with

the teacher.

Next, all educators seem to agree that key parts of a successfully managed classroom are

consistency and engaging instruction. I believe we can all agree that students are more engaged and

motivated when provide access to technology. Educational technology also provides us with digital and
distance learning opportunities. We should explore these methods of instruction. A teacher could use the

flipped learning model and video instruction to ensure that even if the primary educator is out of the room,

students are still consistently and productively engaged in learning.

Furthermore, another focus for teachers has been using data to drive instruction. There are many

tools that educators can use that evaluate, provide instant feedback, analyze student achievement, capture

student performance on different items/standards, etc. These tools help teachers provide more

individualized data based instruction and potentially lessen teacher work load as we can use technology to

assist in evaluating our students as opposed to manually evaluating assessments and doing item analysis.

With educational technology tools such as Engrade, I’m provided item analysis with any online test or quiz.

I can use this data to regroup, reteach, support and challenge students.

Finally, the use of educational technology fosters creativity and innovation in our students. It can

also be used to support students in developing a community and becoming responsible digital citizens.

Students are able to explore and research their own interests, make cross curricular connections and be

creative. Educational technology is a benefit in our school as it is relatable to our students. However, it is

imperative that students are taught and supported to grasp the weight and responsibility that comes with

the use of all types of technology. The world of educational technology is vast and can get murky

sometimes. Which is why I precisely understand your initial hesitance toward the use of educational

technology in our school. However, given that we have such a supportive, collaborative, innovative staff I

am confident we can work together to ensure that our students are reaping the full benefits of Ed. Tech,

which I am confident outweigh the concerns.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, Miss Gilmore