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The 5 Simple Steps to Using Technology in Your Classroom Tomorrow

digital literacy edtech google in-person teaching online education online learning tech in the classroom tech tips Dec 07, 2021

After the pandemic, we may be back in our classrooms, but that doesn’t mean that technology is going anywhere. Tons of businesses are giving up in-person office buildings because having employees work from home is cheaper and they are actually more effective when working from home.

2020 Stat           2025 Stat

That is the world our students will be graduating into and we need to prepare our students to meet the demands of a technology-reliant workplace.

This means we need to be using technology in our classrooms and here are 5 steps to get started easily!

1. Here are the essentials: a projector and whiteboard.

That’s it.

Everything else is just gravy!

Yes, it helps if students have devices but if you are not a one-to-one school, that is okay! (Check out my other blog post here about how to make it work when you don’t have a ton of devices.) For this scenario though, we are going to assume that you have devices for some or all students. 

2. Teach them how to check out the devices and the procedure to do so. I have it on my agenda slides each day when they walk in if they need devices or not.

My directions usually go: 

“Check out a device and take a seat.

Log in and go to Moodle.

Find the assignment for today.

Click the link and… (whatever they need to do like make a copy of the Google Doc, or log in to Kahoot, etc.)"

3. Pick an activity that incorporates the technology as part of the learning process rather than is just for fun. Kahoots are an amazing tool that can be used to teach content like my Thesis Statements lesson here, but just playing it for fun is not helping the students learn the material (the game aspect of Kahoot is great for review!). 

(Also, be on the lookout for my Kahoot Lesson Tutorial coming soon!)

4. Project this activity on the front whiteboard and have students participate on their devices. I like using the whiteboard because I can draw all over what I am projecting and erase it super easy just like a SMARTboard, but I don’t have to worry about ALL the tech issues that seem to accompany a SMARTboard. 

I also really like to use programs like Nearpod or Poll Everywhere to include student responses in the lesson and project those so we can learn from each other. 

5. Teach your content. Do not ever sacrifice your high standards and outcomes in order to add a tech aspect to a lesson. Be sure that this is all still about the content and not always about the cool, shiny, tech thing.

So, try this tomorrow! Make your next lesson into a Google Slides presentation that you can write on for emphasis or that students can solve on the whiteboard and project that. Ask them to come up and write on it or ask them to have discussions during the lesson. Remember that participation and engagement look different in every lesson.

And if you have no idea where to start, check out my favorite 10 Apps all Teachers Should Use Even If You Are Broke as a Joke!