Employing technology: 7 clever ideas for teachers to incorporate technology in the educational setting






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The demands and challenges in education have been impending in this fast-changing learning environment. It seems that education can no longer work alone without the integration of technology, may it be through assessment, classroom activities, creating lesson plans, providing instructions, or conducting micro-lectures. Education has indeed transformed positively through technology integration, looking at the benefits it provides in making the teaching and learning process much easier. Technology has also saved education, especially during the pandemic when we suddenly shifted from traditional face-to-face classes inside the physical classroom to online classes in Google Meet or Zoom. In the course of time, we also learned more about additional educational uses involving technology integration.

Be that as it may, technology integration has still been a challenge to many teachers. It is still inevitable to encounter difficulties given that not all teachers are technologically and digitally literate. If you’re one of them, hang in there! There are so many ways to aid these difficulties. Here are 7 clever ideas for you to incorporate technology in the educational setting:


1.) Strive and push yourself past your limits.



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It may be difficult for you to master or learn how to use technology, including the software and hardware it involves. Teachers tend to be discouraged and settle for the traditional way of teaching just because they cannot integrate technology into the classroom. But actually, it’s not that they can’t. Maybe they just need a little more push—to strive and be better. We all have that capacity to learn, and how to use technology is not an exemption. You need to push yourself past your limits because if you don’t, you will never know how far your capabilities can go. Try harder. Be better. Kill the mindset of being just contented.






2.) Do not be afraid to ask for tech support.




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As a teacher, asking for support is not that easy. You may have adopted the stereotypical notion that teachers are supposed to be the ones who support and not the other way around. But we have to break that stereotype. We should learn how to humble ourselves and accept that we also need support, even if that support comes from our own students. Most students are either digital natives or digital citizens and are likely to be more digitally literate than us. So, if you need some help in integrating technology, do not be afraid to ask for their tech support.






3.) Provide a safe online community for students.



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Although most students are considered to be either digital natives or digital citizens, they may still be somehow ignorant in terms of digital etiquette. The utilization of technology itself may be easy for them, but being responsible citizens online could still be a huge challenge for them to take. As teachers, we should still guide them as they engage in online activities, help them use appropriate behavior, and make good choices as they interact with the digital world.




4.) Let the students explore with technology.




Due to the sudden shift in the teaching and learning process, students now learn differently. It seems that technology has been a company for them as they explore, learn, and discover more about various things. They are slowly outgrowing to the traditional classroom which they had been used to before. But whether this is bad news or not, we need to support our students’ learning and allow them to explore with technology. We can do this by providing classroom activities wherein they can make use of the potential benefits of technology. We can also conduct assessments by gamifying them. Since the educational process is being remodeled and redefined, we should let our students enhance and reach their fullest potential through technology.




5.) Collect feedback from students about your technology integration.



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We know for sure how critical and essential feedback is in helping a student to improve in a certain area. But just as how we should humble ourselves by letting students give us tech support, we should also allow them to give us feedback. Why? Simply because we teachers also need to continuously improve. The efficiency and effectiveness of our teaching through technology integration will always reflect on our students. They know if you, as a teacher, are still being effective or not. So, whether we receive positive or negative feedback from students, we should accept all this feedback and use it as a tool to continuously strive and improve.



6.) Review your work.





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Make it a habit of reviewing your work every time you finish your lesson plan, your classroom activities, or your methods of assessment. A lot of students now can sometimes be meticulous about the work of a teacher especially when it involves technology. For example, the test you will provide them in Google Forms should be well-organized and clear. If the instructions, directions, or questions are scattered all around and everywhere, students will lose interest in the test and even in you. It might make them feel that you’re not confident with your job and as a result, they will also lose their confidence in learning your subject. So, take note of reviewing your work to make it work.





7.) Connect classroom experiences with technology to the real world.






With the multiple benefits of technology, teachers can now provide opportunities for students to make connections between classroom experiences and the real world. It significantly enhances the learning experiences of students as they can apply these learnings in their own lives. This can be done by going on a virtual field trip, using videos as a form of mini-lessons, adding multimedia elements to presentations, providing collaborative assignments using technology, and many more! Through these various ways, students’ access to knowledge and real-world perspectives will drastically increase.










Difficulties in employing technology in the educational setting are always present but it does not mean we cannot do something about them. Although there are external and internal barriers existing in the integration of technology, we should still try our best as educators to combat or at least alleviate these difficulties. And hopefully, these seven clever ideas provided above are helpful! Good luck with your techy journey in your classroom, amazing teacher!






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