Sharpening skills for the digital classroom

Key points:

When I first started teaching online, I served a group of high school students who were on the cusp of becoming professional tennis players. These students came from all over the world to live in a dorm-style home where they had a strict schedule, which included physical and skill training. With their intense training schedule, they had to find a solution for academic instruction that was original. I was able to meet their learning needs through an online curriculum and support their strengths, talents, and passion to pursue a career in tennis.

Education should provide and inspire opportunities; it should not be a barrier to students’ talents and dreams. By allowing that first cohort of online students to participate in a flexible learning environment, they were able to meet graduation requirements while pursuing their dreams. While I don’t know the long-term outcomes for each student, I do know that they were on the right path to lifelong success because they were able to finish their high school education.

Unfortunately, many current educators went through credentialing programs that did not place enough emphasis on the use of technology in teaching. As a result, many educators feel ill-prepared to provide our students with the digital resources they need to succeed. Pre- and post-pandemic outcomes showed us that we can no longer afford to do the same thing in the classroom and expect different results. We have to start using technology not just because it is available, but to support our students in unique and differentiated ways to help them achieve success.

We don't have to integrate all technology at once. Here are some tips on how to get started or build on efforts that teachers have already put in place in their classrooms:

Start small and focus: Start by selecting a single tool or activity that you can easily integrate into your existing curriculum. This helps minimize the learning curve for both you and your students, making the transition to using technology more manageable. Avoid tackling too many things at once—it's easy to get overwhelmed and want to give up altogether. Instead, gradually build up your technology repertoire over time.

Be flexible and adaptable: If you find that a particular tool or activity doesn't meet your needs or isn't as effective as you hoped, don't hesitate to abandon it. It's important to be open to experimenting with different options until you find what works best for your teaching style and your students. We don't want to simply use technology. We want to inspire learning and improve student success.

Take advantage of professional development opportunities: Attend conferences and workshops to learn about new tools and technologies. Not only do these events offer access to vendors who can demonstrate their products, but they also provide opportunities to learn from the experiences of other educators. You'll discover practical ways to effectively incorporate technology into your classroom.

Collaborate with colleagues: Networking and collaborating with a team member can significantly improve your success. The ability to exchange ideas, share resources, and troubleshoot problems will give you the support you need to move forward. Collaboration creates a supportive environment where you can experiment with new technologies and create supporting documentation and content for students together.

As educators, we must harness the potential of technology to transform our teaching and improve student outcomes. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are prepared to meet the diverse needs of our students, who are growing up in a digital world and using technology from an early age. Resources such as “Teaching in the digital classroom” by UC Scout which is free to all educators, can help educators understand how to make online instruction and digital tools effective in any subject or grade level.

Together, we can create learning environments that leverage technology and provide our students with the education they deserve and empower them to pursue their gifts and dreams.