Technology...what? what?

Day 2: Write about a piece of technology that I want to use this year?

Technology is both a blessing and a curse. Students of today are attached to their personal technology in a way that I can't really understand. Don't get me wrong...I understand liking technology...I love playing on my phone. I have about a zillion apps and I am constantly surfing through more to try to see what's interesting or new. This year I am hoping to teach my freshman how to use their personal technology in a way that is powerful and educational. There are so many things that they can learn that is beyond their current way of thinking.

In my experience, most students know how to do very few things on their phones. They can access Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, not to mention searching on Google. Beyond these, there is not much they know and I feel like this year is the time to change this. Wolfram Alpha has an amazing capacity to research information and Desmos can do incredible graphing.

Some feel that we should employ the "off and away" for all personal technology, all of the time, when I believe that direct teaching around technology is far more powerful. I want students to be able to effectively access their world, so in order to do that I need to instruct them how to responsibly use their technology.

Some may be cynical...allowing students to use their phones during school, but I am from another frame of mind...I want to teach them when to use the tech, how to use tech, and why we use tech. It's a start...I am ready to take it on!