This is only my sixth-year teaching, so technology use has been embedded in my practice right from the start. During my Master of Teaching, I remember sitting in a tutorial and a friend said, “Let’s use Google Docs to collaborate” and my mind was blown that each group member could access the document individually and make changes in real-time! Technology is seamlessly (most of the time) integrated into our daily lives at school – from learning management systems and emails to student and staff devices. In addition, many staff incorporate digital tools to support classroom teaching and learning activities to foster participation, collaboration, and engagement (e.g. Canva, Prezi, YouTube, iMovie, ACMI Storyboard Generator and so on).
As an English teacher, I haven’t seen much digital literature in use for classroom study and eBooks are not promoted at our school library. There was some discussion a few years ago about bringing Inanimate Alice onto a Year 7 text list, but there was some anxiety amongst staff about how to approach teaching a multimodal text (as opposed to a book or film text). I don’t think it’s just a matter of ‘changing tools’ as there are different pedagogical practices associated with embedding digital technology (and digital literature!) into the classroom. Instead, we need to be adapting our curriculum, upskilling, and expanding our pedagogical practices accordingly.
This discussion reminds me of the SAMR model, developed by Dr Ruben Puendetara, which is a hierarchical framework for the integration of digital technology in the classroom. The four levels are: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition (Hilton, 2016). The lowest level, substitution, is where teachers replace tools using technology, but without any functional change. The highest level, redefinition, is the best-case scenario – where digital technology is used to expand possibilities that were not viable without technology. As education theorist Kirkland states, “the key to using the SAMR model is not to think of it as a progression to work through. Really using technology effectively means creating the kind of rich tasks that redesign traditional ways of learning” (2014, p. 16). I personally think this is exciting, but I know that it must be scary for some educators!
Reference List:
Hilton, J. T. (2016). A Case Study of the Application of SAMR and TPACK for Reflection on Technology Integration into Two Social Studies Classrooms. Social Studies, 107(2), 68–73.
Kirkland, A. B. (2014). Models for Technology Integration in the Learning Commons. School Libraries in Canada, 32(1), 14–18.
Image Credit: Photo by Wokandapix from Pixabay
