5 Mistakes we make (I made) with #Edtech

 We tend to celebrate and focus on our success stories on blogs and especially on social media–as we should, but sometimes a reminder of our challenges and mistakes is just as valuable.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.
–Buddha

This post was inspired by Carol Dweck’s TED Talk:

As we know technology can be a  powerful tool in our classrooms but it can also be intimidating. Since effective #edtech implementation often involves a paradigm shift in our pedagogical approach, it can seem daunting and scary, but also fun and empowering.

I would describe myself as an eager early adopter tech geek; I love playing with #edtech and constantly put myself into situations where I don’t know how it might turn out. It means that I make mistakes, fail, and learn a great deal about myself and how I deal with pressure and stress.

Here are five mistakes I made with educational technology.

Digital Natives

Do you think kids know more about tech than you do? Some do, but most don’t, and what they don’t know is how to learn with it. Students are excellent consumers of digital technologies, however, #edtech has all the potential to turn their consummation into content creation. The one advantage that students have over adults in this matter is that they usually aren’t timid of the devices, it is our job to utilize that skill to bring on the other skills.

Time Allocation

I am always over-optimistic, therefore I over plan and cram too much content or too many tasks into one session, this is partly a result of my first mistake. Now

As a result, I have created myself a rudimentary planning guide to help myself to plan more effectively and realistically; I call it the Sandbox-model. If I am introducing  a new app or using an app in a new way, my session will follow this cycle:

1/3 free play
1/3 guided tasks
1/3 open tasks

Tech as a substitute only

This is a tricky one. As much as I like using gadgets, devices, and apps I should also remember that there is a bigger picture, is my tech use going to improve learning? Should I use ebook textbooks or not?

Paperless is not a pedagogy. What is good for kids should drive everything! Is this good for learning? No? Then digital doesn’t help that. #ICE18 pic.twitter.com/BfXyaHMize

— Alice Keeler (@alicekeeler) February 27, 2018

Edutainment

My first rabbit hole was the iPad Padagogy wheel. What I didn’t realize that most apps geared towards education are made/built by people with a very narrow understanding of learning. IMHO most useful apps for education are the ones that actually are meant for professionals to actually do things, not to entertain us.

The problem with this type of presentation that teachers will too easily just pluck apps and start planning with tech/app in mind instead of learning.

Appearance

My greatest mistake has been and still probably is that I seem to make my own use of #edtech too easy and instead of letting my colleagues find out on their own I will “help out” by doing things for them. I know that it is not a sustainable model, therefore I have found a new way to advocate and support #edtech usage: 
Instead of being the sage on the stage I’ll try to encourage everyone to be a risk taker and have fun whilst learning new skills!