Key points:
When I first started teaching online, I served a group of high schoolers who were budding professional tennis players. These students came from all over the world to live in a dormitory-style house where they had a rigid schedule, including conditioning and skills training. With their intense training program, they had to find a solution for academic instruction that was outside of the box. I was able to meet their learning needs through an online curriculum and support their strengths, talents, and passion to pursue careers in tennis.
Education should provide and inspire opportunity; it shouldn’t be a barrier to students’ gifts and dreams. By allowing that first cohort of online students to engage in a flexible learning environment, they were able to fulfill their graduation requirements while pursuing their dreams. While I don’t know the long-term outcomes for each student, I do know they were set on the right path to lifelong success because they could finish their high school education.
Unfortunately, many current teachers went through credential programs that didn’t place enough emphasis on the use of technology in instruction. As a result, many educators feel unprepared to provide our students with the digital resources they need to succeed. Pre- and post-pandemic outcomes showed us we can no longer afford to do the same things in the classroom and expect different results. We have to start using technology not just because it is available, but to support our students in unique and differentiated ways to help them achieve success.
We don’t have to integrate all technology at once. Here are tips for how to get started or build on the efforts educators may have already instituted in their classrooms:
Start small and focused: Begin by selecting just one tool or activity that you can easily integrate into your existing curriculum. This helps minimize the learning curve for both you and your students, making the transition to using technology more manageable. Avoid tackling too much at once; it’s easy to get overwhelmed and want to quit all together. Instead, gradually build your technology repertoire over time.
Be flexible and adaptive: If you find that a particular tool or activity isn’t meeting your needs or isn’t as effective as you hoped, don’t hesitate to abandon it. It’s important to be open to experimenting with different options until you find what works best for your teaching style and your students. We don’t want to simply use technology. We want to inspire learning and improve student success.
Leverage professional development opportunities: Attend conferences and workshops to learn about new tools and technologies. These events not only offer access to vendors who can demonstrate their products, but also provide opportunities to learn from other educators’ experiences. You’ll discover practical ways to incorporate technology effectively in your classroom.
Collaborate with colleagues: Networking and partnering with a team member can significantly enhance your success. The ability to brainstorm ideas, share resources, and troubleshoot challenges will provide the needed support to press on. Collaboration creates a supportive environment where you can experiment with new technologies and create student-facing support documentation and content together.
As educators, we must embrace the potential of technology to transform our teaching and improve student outcomes. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are equipped to meet the diverse needs of our students, who are growing up in a digital world and using technology from early ages. Resources like UC Scout’s “Teaching in the Digital Classroom,” which is free for all teachers, can help educators understand how to make online instruction and digital tools effective across any subject or grade level.
Together, we can create learning environments that leverage technology and provide our students with the education they deserve and that empowers them to pursue their gifts and dreams.
