The following is a guest post from Mary McCaffrey from SchoolCenter. Comment below and let me know what you think!
Schooling the Teacher: How Technology Is Changing Today’s Instructors
In recent years, technology has opened new doors to student achievement at an ever increasing pace. From distance learning classes enabling learners to take advantage of new opportunities, to search engines supporting students daily in classroom research- technology is accelerating a major paradigm shift from the classrooms of yesterday.
This shift offers a huge opportunity to engage the iGeneration students in a format familiar to these “digital natives”. Today, students belong to multiple social networks, produce content online, interact and engage in special interest groups and utilize digital tools such as smart phones, digital books, and touch screen devices to further enhance their connected experience. How do we stay connected with this generation in the context of education?
Plugging In
Staying on top of technology trends for educators is no easy task. Yet, now is a critical time for us to leverage the advances in the technology space to enhance education delivery with our students. Collaborative environments connect teachers and students in new and positive ways. Harnessing technology to enable real-time assignment, creation, review, feedback and delivery powers student involvement and engagement. The ideal is to interact with students using methods similar to those they experience in their personal lives for communicating and engaging—those methods our students have so clearly embraced.
From Desk to Desktop
Think about the simple application of enabling dissemination of coursework, materials and information. Homework is assigned and collected and sent through email and other digital means. School closings or delays are messaged to students and parents. Class lectures are converted to videos and placed on school websites or YouTube to help spark online conversations or prepare students for course exams. The extension beyond school walls is invaluable. Using technology to distribute and collaborate on course work teaches students how to quickly, learn and use technology to achieve an end goal; an imperative skill for higher education and the digitalized workforce.
Students today spend more time in front of a computer than a television. Teachers use the internet to reach students in multiple environments and engage students in a way that was not even imaginable by their predecessors. The global business environment today calls for tech savvy employees; the tech savvy educator will greatly influence the student’s skill development throughout their education years.
Making the Grade… Faster
What I’ve seen across the board in education is an increasing desire amongst teachers and administrators to be more efficient and effective in delivering a solid educational experience; and I believe technology is changing the way we do our work. Online tests make grading nearly instant and often more accurate, creating teaching guides and class handouts are easier and more effective using today’s content creation tools and instant and frequent live feedback fosters a positive learning culture.
Educators can be the leaders towards using media that will affect and change how students and teachers approach course work each day. I believe we have entered a new era where Web 2.0 technologies are increasing both student and teacher efficiency, as well as promoting a more collaborative learning environment. That is how we will successfully engage our students to ensure achievement of their potential.
About Mary McCaffrey
Mary has more than 25 years of experience in technology and education through her various leadership roles at SchoolCenter, Pearson, Apple, Carnegie Learning, Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University. At SchoolCenter, McCaffrey is committed to providing environments engaging all members of the education community. As President of Pearson’s School Systems group, McCaffrey transitioned the business to its current technology leadership position. Prior to her position at Pearson, McCaffrey lead PowerSchool, a division of Apple, as President, where she spearheaded the development and sale of its flagship student information system and played an instrumental role in the business unit’s eventual acquisition by Pearson.
About SchoolCenter
SchoolCenter is the leading strategic web solutions company in the education market. Headquartered in Carbondale, IL, SchoolCenter provides districts and schools with a proven approach to growing interactive K-12 environments that engage the lifelong learner. With more than 13 years experience, 6,000 schools and over a half a million users, SchoolCenter applies proven best practices, providing strategic web solutions that meet specific education goals. SchoolCenter offers customized design services, scalable and flexible technology solutions, comprehensive training, ongoing support and a long-term commitment to customer success.
Visit SchoolCenter at www.schoolcenter.com
