Technology Teaching Philosophy

Katie Pfanstiel

Technology plays a very important role in the current educational landscape.

Technology is a field that is growing every day and continues to impact our lives on a

daily basis and especially our students’ lives. Because of this, teachers need to find

effective ways to incorporate technology into our instruction on a daily basis. I believe

technology can provide students with skills they will need in the future and technology

can assist teachers in teaching a multitude of skills. Technology is not going to replace

our teachers, but it can be a very effective tool in assisting us in teaching certain

concepts or showing students something in a different way. Technology’s importance is

in its ability to provide our students with problem solving opportunities, its engaging

nature, from the students’ perspective, and the manner in which it prepares students for

their futures.

Technology is well-suited to providing students with problem solving

opportunities and therefore helping develop their critical thinking skills. For example, in

my fourth grade classroom we participate in “Mystery Hangouts” or “Mystery Skypes.”

Our district’s technology integrationist and I set up a time when we can call a classroom

from another state and the class is charged with figuring out their location. From this

opportunity, my students are developing their map skills, learning how to work together

as a team, and by working together as a team, they are problem solving. They have to

develop a list of good questions they can ask and eliminate the bad ones, so that they

can be the first to discover where the other class is located. By participating in these
“Mystery Hangouts” my class not only works on these skills but they can meet other kids

from around the world and learn about where they are from.

Another problem solving tool that we have used in my classroom are coding

programs and apps. Coding is where students have to create the steps for something

to perform a task correctly. If it does not work, they have to determine where it went

wrong and fix it. Coding programs are not only working on problem solving but also

allowing students to think critically about the tasks they are performing and if it’s going

to help them reach the end goal. According to a Forbes article, “At a basic level, it

improves problem-solving and thinking skills, and having digital skills will improve their

chances of being employed in the future (Morrison, 2013).” The problem solving skills

my students learn from these tools can then be applied back into solving math problems

or even reading and understanding a book, as it teaches students to think “outside of

the box.”

Secondly, technology is important because it increases student engagement. In

my classroom, whenever I have something planned with technology, students are

always looking forward to it, even if it’s something they’ve never tried before. For

example, the last couple of years I have used an application called Nearpod, on the

iPad, to teach some of my math lessons. Instead of lecturing students at the

whiteboard or interacting with the Smartboard, I would create my lesson on Nearpod.

Students are able to follow along with a slideshow and then they interact with it by

participating in some interactive slides. This helps me, as the teacher, see who is

struggling with the concept and allows me to share selected students’ work with the
whole class on the projector screen (everyone wants their drawing to be shown). I have

found when I use an app like Nearpod and change up normal routines, students’

engagement is increased for the concept that I’m teaching. In an article titled “How

Technology Can Boost Student Engagement,” Wardlow states that “Technology as a

tool helps teachers create and present content and instruction that is interesting and

relevant to students. When learning is relevant to students, they become more

engaged, active learners (Wardlow, 2014).” I find this statement very true because my

students are much more engaged when something is presented in a more interesting

way, such as Nearpod.

Lastly, technology prepares our students for their future. Whether our students

choose to go into nursing, teaching, science, mathematics, or other fields, they will need

to be using technology along the way. Having prior knowledge in even basic skills, such

as how to turn on a computer, typing, and basic troubleshooting, students will be set up

for success in the future.

To help prepare our students for the future in technology, we have to prepare

them to be good digital citizens. Teachers need to model appropriate behavior on the

internet and discuss how to communicate with others appropriately. In my fourth grade

class we discuss how to be good digital citizens and we practice that by going onto

Kidblog, creating a blog post and then responding to our classmates in a positive

manner.

Thus, technology is a field that will continue to grow, as will our dependence and

reliance upon it. The tools that we are currently using in our teaching may be totally
obsolete in ten years. Thus, all the more so, teachers should incorporate technology to

encourage problem solving and critical thinking skills, to engage students, and to

prepare their students for the future.

 Works Cited

How Technology Can Boost Student Engagement - Pearson Research & Innovation

Network. (2014, January). Retrieved June 29, 2015, from

http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/learning-science-technology/technology-can-

boost-student-engagement

Teach Kids How To Code And You Give Them A Skill For Life. Retrieved June 29,

2015, from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorrison/2013/12/27/teach-kids-how-to-code-and-

you-give-them-a-skill-for-life/