OK, I’m reaching a bit on this headline, but this topic is going to be about the “Hottest” trends in Ed Tech today!
Unfortunately, I have had teachers suggest (or imply) that what I teach is simply a FAD that will disappear in a few years, like all of the other failed educational experiments. Hey, we did class art projects in school, aren’t we just going backwards 30 years in school?
Ugh. This is the farthest from the truth. Yes, there are devices, robotics, toys, ed tech devices that are FAD-ish, and they do disappear as quickly as they arrived, but that is just the technology. What’s not a FAD? 21st Century skills, Project-Based Learning, Global sharing, self-paced learning and authentic assessments.
I am so fortunate to be in the position that I am currently teaching. I mean, just look at my classroom! Some people think it’s crazy to have a giant tree house with a slide in the middle of your teaching space, but hey, it’s fun and why not enjoy what you teach! The flexible seating allows for amazing group projects, the technology my students have access to will make many high school-ers jealous.
The biggest HOT trends I see today in educational spaces are three things. Breaking down the silos we find ourselves teaching, creating unique schedules that allow for more flexibility for all teachers, and sharing and collaborating with people around the world.
Breaking Down Silos
If you pulled a classroom student from a hundred years ago through a time machine and place her in a modern classroom, what would they see? Would we be embarrassed to see that they would recognize most of what we have in the majority of classrooms across our great nation? I STILL see desks lined up in rows, a “chalk board” in the front of the room, a GIANT teacher desk in the front of the room, and an apple on the desk (although they might be holding pencils & post-it notes now).
Sure, we have white boards now, perhaps SMART boards or something similar, and the students hold the power of the world in their hands via smartphones so they can text gifs of Pusheen to their friends.
One of the biggest hold-backs from teaching hundreds of years ago is the silo mentality. Math is taught during math class. Writing is taught during ELA. Science is taught during science class, and Social Studies is taught… well almost never – that’s a topic for another post.
We need to start breaking down these barriers. Why can’t we read about a real-world science issue, write to our community leaders, and calculate data in spreadsheets using correct mathematical formulas, graphs and charts during one project? I would love to see a breakdown of the “cover” mentality. Teachers are pressured to “cover” the stuff in their curriculum at an even higher pace than in the past, thanks to super helpful tools such as Mandatory State Testing programs.
Breaking down these silos and allowing teachers to simply, well, teach, will be one of the biggest trends we should see schools start adopting. Schools are already moving away from the traditional report card, why not move away from the traditional classroom as well?
Creating Unique Schedules
One of the reasons why I am able to do the awesome stuff in my own classroom has to do with with my schedule. Instead of teaching a class for 35 minutes a week, my administrators were able to work a schedule where I am able to teach 70 minutes a week – doubling the amount of time I am able to see my students. Another important addition to my schedule is that I permanently co-teach with another amazing teacher. I am fortunate to teach alongside someone who shares the same educational values as I do, and is willing to experiment and try new things in the classroom. Not every idea has worked, but that’s part of the fun in the learning process!
If we can break down some of the walls in our buildings, that will go a long way to breaking down the silos we have in our schools as well. Both physically and figuratively, breaking down these walls will open up to larger, more open space in the school building and it will open the possibility for larger group projects and multiple teachers servicing their students together. Co-teaching really helps keep us on our A-game and I am constantly learning from my colleagues in the building.
If we were to move towards more flexible classrooms, where students still learn the same things teachers are supposed to “cover” but with larger projects (another HOT trend in STEM education today – PBL’s!) Newer schools being built today have large open spaces for students to work on group projects. It would be great if we could capture some of this magic in our ‘older’ buildings too.
Global Collaboration
The last HOT trend that I want to mention in this post is the one that I need to work on myself in my own classroom. I would love to have my students partner up with people in the community and around the world to share ideas and collaborate with one another. With all of the technology we have access to in our modern schools, our world today is tiny.
For students (and teachers) getting started, we should start small. My students do a lot of inventing in the classroom. So do other students just up the road in another building in our district. Wouldn’t it be great for our students to talk to one another to share ideas and give honest feedback on their progress? It will keep our groups on task, and teach them the digital citizenship skills needed to be successful humans on the internet later in life.
Ultimately, I would love to have my students to collaborate with other students around the globe. They could share ideas on inventions, give feedback on research, and build connections to people outside of themselves. Students can be very selfish creatures when left on their own. Branching out to people with alternative backgrounds, will help promote bi-lingual interactions, and more well-rounded humans in the long run.
Each of these HOT trends may be coming to your school in the near future. If not, we have options! Don’t be the “complainer” in the building. Be the advocate your students need. Don’t hate your job every day – counting the days to the end of the school year, make changes yourself! If that means leaving the school for another teaching position – do it! We don’t have to be stuck in our ways, or stuck in our career. Keep your chin up, and be the change you want.
Building Up STEAM 