Infused with Technology or Technology-Infused?

Confused? Wondering, “What’s the difference?” Let me explain. 
Infused with technology is what I refer to as our 21st century digital natives. Or, in plain English, children growing up today. They are infused with technology from birth (see my prior Blog entry “Teaching Students in the 21st Century”). 


On the other hand, technology-infused refers to a classroom that is equipped with (and making the most of) technology. It is a 21st century digitally enhanced classroom. So, what does a technology-infused classroom look like? A technology-infused classroom is one in which technology is integrated into lessons throughout the school day/year. Looking around one of these classrooms you would see 1:1 computers, laptops, or iPads for the students and teacher. A set of classroom student responders (clickers), a projection unit, a document camera, and an interactive whiteboard would all be present. 


And what would the students be doing in a technology-infused classroom? They would be involved in real-world authentic learning experiences. They would be working independently or in collaborative groups to solve an assigned problem or task. They might even be communicating with experts or others around the world via Skype. 


I plan to have a technology-infused classroom by volunteering to try out any new technology offered to me. (Which I actually already do and have done in the past.) Currently I have quite a bit of technology available in my classroom. I have a class set of responders, a projection unit, a document camera, and an interactive whiteboard. I also plan to ensure that I am exploiting these technology tools fully in my students’ learning process. Furthermore, I plan to try ad obtain some type of 1:1 technology hopefully through an online donation site or grant. 


I pledge to use the technology I have to meet (or exceed): my grade level standards, the common core standards, and the ISTE-NETS (the International Society for Technology in Education National Educational Technology Standards) for students/teachers!

Visual Literacy, the Internet, and My Classroom

Almost everyone has heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This phrase applies well when discussing visual literacy. Visual literacy is the capacity to learn from information taught in the form of an image or images. Not everyone is visually literate; yet, many students are or can benefit from the use of visuals in the classroom.


Using visuals to enhance one’s teaching is not a new idea. Teachers have been doing this since the profession started (think chalk and slate). What has changed is the plethora of visuals available to today’s teachers, thanks to the Internet. Today’s teachers can, more often than not, find a visual that corresponds with the subject matter they are covering.


Visual-thinking strategies I would like to use, or do use, in my classroom that are available on the Internet for free are: posters, charts, photos, books, clipart, PowerPoint, Videos (including educational music videos), demonstrations, tutorials, and educational games.


Utilizing these strategies impacts the teaching and learning process in my classroom in a positive way. My students are more engaged and excited about the lessons. They want to participate if it is an interactive visual, they ask questions at a deeper level when they can see real life photos or demonstrations, and they are having fun while learning.


Sometimes these positive results begin with a negative because it can be time consuming to look for an appropriate visual to use for a particular subject matter. Nevertheless, the positives undeniably outweigh the negatives! This is the main reason why I choose to use these strategies.


I also want to use these strategies because I feel the Internet is a significant part of my student’s lives now and will continue to be. Therefore, it should be an important part of my classroom. However, the role of the Internet in my class should be, and I strive for it to be, educationally significant. What I mean by this is, when I incorporate the Internet into a lesson it is because it enhances my lesson, otherwise I do without using it.