Integrating Educational Technologies

Integrating Educational Technologies into Your Classrooms

There is no denying that students today don’t know what it is to grow up without immediate access to information and the internet. This generation has literally been connected since birth. It has come to a point where the debate is about teaching kids to balance their digital and face to face lives. Educators have to use technology in order to teach kids how to do so responsibly and productively. But it is not only about the technology. It’s about teaching how to build healthy relationships, to think and work like scientists and engineers and how to use the tools available to us and separate good tools and news from bad ones. Utilizing the power of educational technologies in science teaching has become more vital with each passing year, from smartphones to digital fabrication tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters.
One of the leaders in the field of integrating technology into education is Dr. Cristiana Assumpção, co-founder of the online Earth2Class Workshops for Teachers, and Educational Technology and STEAM Consultant. Dr. Assumpção earned her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, in Instructional Technology and Media (2002.) Below on this page, she shares some of the information she uses in her teacher enhancement programs offered through her services for the last 23 years at a private school in Brazil, and now as an independent researcher and consultant in the USA.
Note: Many of the following links are hosted on external websites and may have been altered or closed by the creators. Please notify us if you find this to be the case–michael@earth2class.org.
Each E2C session provides an opportunity for teachers to explore different aspects of educational technology, and then share what they do with others. Here are links to samples:

Suggestions from  Cristiana Assumpção:

NMC (New Media Consortium) Emerging Leaders (older links)
Austin, TX (2013) Conference YouTube presentation
Tips on How to Manage Collaborative Group Work in the Classroom
Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom (still applicable in part, now thinking of smartphones)
See also Cristiana’s presentation in the E2C em Brasil section (in Portuguese).
STEM and STEAM (2018)/h3
The use of technology is only as powerful as the pedagogical strategies that use them. So when we think about educational technology, we have to think first about our teaching goals/ objectives. The first thing the teachers have to put in the lesson plan is where they want their student to go, and how they will know if the student has arrived. We call these the objectives and assessment tools. After we answer these two questions (“Where do I want to go? How do I know if I got there?”), we now plan the road that will take them there. We think about strategies, materials and technologies.
In the last years there has been a visible growth in the Maker Movement, both in the USA and in other countries. When educational technology and science met the maker community, the discussions on STEM and STEAM curriculum increased. Using the power of investigative science as described in the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards), a hands-on experimental approach and technology, you can create amazing curricular activities that will engage the students and promote higher level thinking skills.
Here are some resources to get started on thinking about STEM / STEAM in your classroom. As a science teacher for 30 years, I personally found it a much richer experience to incorporate the Arts as a partner for making better science by bringing in a human approach that values significance, design and aesthetics, all important aspects that contribute to beauty and the quality of life. Science could not ask for a better partner.

• Best STEM books by NSTA: http://www.nsta.org/publications/stembooks/
• Fablearn Labs (Stanford): https://tltl.stanford.edu/project/fablearn-labs
• Make community and publications: https://makezine.com
  • Makezine projects: https://makezine.com/projects/
• Google Groups: K-12 and Fablabs – https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/k-12-fablabs
• Project Based Learning – http://www.bie.org
  • (Blog) Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elementshttp://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements(Blog) Gold Standard PBL: Project Based Teaching Practiceshttp://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_project_based_teaching_practices(Blog) The importance of Project Based Teachinghttp://bie.org/blog/the_importance_of_project_based_teaching
    • Great references about the origins and discussions around PBL
    BIE Project Planner (screenshot of the online project planner)https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzxe13y9sQKZY3RDWVAxemRuaG8

• Project ideas: Instructables – http://www.instructables.com/
• High-Low tech group at MIT (project ideas) – http://highlowtech.org/
• http://www.independent.co.uk/student/student-life/Studies/stem-vs-steam-how-the-sciences-and-arts-are-coming-together-to-drive-innovation-a7047936.html
• Jen Reviews — 9 Amazing Benefits of Technology in the Classroom (+18 Best Ways to Incorporate Technology)
  https://www.jenreviews.com/classroom-technology/
• CustomLogoCases — EdTech: The Benefits of Technology in the Classroomhttps://www.customlogocases.com/blog/edtech-benefits/