Evaluating Technology
What do we need to think about when evaluating technology?
Before we implement different types of technology, it is crucial that we make sure that the tool enhances, engages and makes the classroom a more efficient and effective learning environment. There are many different programs, apps and tools that we can consider using in our classrooms but we must make sure that they improve the classroom and do not cause a distraction or take away from the lesson. For example, if the app that is being introduced to the classroom is too confusing or difficult to navigate, students will not get as much out of the lesson that is being taught because they are focusing on working with the app.
My experience evaluating technology:
In past field experiences, I have had to pick out different apps to teach students how to use. When deciding what apps to introduce to my students, I had to consider the amount of time I had to teach the lesson, how students could use the app in the future and if the app applied to any of the four Es (efficiency, effectiveness, enhancement and engaging). Some of the apps that I took into the classroom did not go as smoothly as planned. I thought that the app was easy to navigate and get familiar with but my students struggled quite a bit and we were not able to make it through the whole lesson. Looking back on this experience I now see the importance of evaluating technology before it comes into the classroom and making sure it is age appropriate for your students and lesson.
Some helpful tips:
A helpful tool you can use when evaluating technology is rubrics. These rubrics can be created by the teacher based on the characteristics you are looking for in technology or they can be taken from the internet. Below are some rubrics that I found helpful when evaluating technology.
The rubric above is a more basic review for technology. However, I find it helpful because it incorporates the 4 Es and looks at how the piece of technology meets the different principles if at all. This type of rubric could potentially be given to students to evaluate apps that they find. If a teacher is having trouble finding time to evaluate technology, she can ask her students to fill out the rubric themselves and based off the results determine whether it is worth their time to look more closely at the app to implement in the classroom.
This rubric is much more detailed then the prior one, looking closely at different aspects that the tool has to offer. Specifically I like that this rubric evaluates what it does for your student's "thinking skills." When looking at apps I think that it is important to make sure that they challenge students and offer them different ways of evaluating, analyzing and creating material. The above rubric would be ideal for a teacher to use when they are evaluation a different piece of technology.
When evaluating technology it can also be helpful to collaborate with other teachers. Some teachers in your school may have experience with different technology and using them as a reference for how they use it in their classroom can give you insight to how it can improve your own classroom. Teachers can share what they found worked well with the app, what went wrong, how their students liked it and if they would use it again.
My Evaluation:
The technology tool that I chose to evaluate was Seesaw. Seesaw is an app for the classroom that essentially serves as a classroom blog. It allows for students to post or take pictures of their work to share with their classmate, teachers and parents. I think that this is a great resource for teachers to have in their classroom because it offers different forms of assessment and it enables teachers to easily keep track of student work.
When evaluating Seesaw the first thing I looked for was how easy it was to navigate for teachers, students and parents. I found the app very user friendly and could definitely see it as an improvement to my classroom. One feature I really liked about Seesaw is that it can be used as an app or a website, meaning I can access it from my iPad or from a computer. It displays four tabs: journal, inbox, skills, and blog. I appreciated that under the inbox tab there is an option for students and for parents. The app allows for parents to be extremely connected with their children and their learning which could potentially increase their learning at home. The app also offers training courses for teachers who are unfamiliar with how the app works and different lesson plans they can use to introduce the Seesaw to their students.
When looking at Seesaw, I looked to see how other teachers were using the app and their views on how the app worked. I found the video below which offered great feedback and perspective from both teachers and students.
When looking at the different rubrics above, Seesaw scores very high in all the different categories. In particular I really liked how easy it was to customize Seesaw for teachers. The app can be used in classrooms as young as kindergarten to older grades like 4th and 5th grade. Seesaw provides resources to aid teachers in their implementation and different ways that they could potentially use the app in their classroom. This app allows students to engage with one another and collaborate by seeing each others work and comparing it to their own. They can see the different ideas that their peers have and use them to help their understanding of a topic. Lastly, Seesaw does a great job with Feedback. Students can comment and like each other's posts along with teachers. Parents also have access to student's work which allows for them to receive different kinds of feedback from three different parties. Pretty cool!
Overall, I think that the rubrics were a great resource to use when evaluating technology. They presented categories that I would not have thought of on my own. I wish that in the rubrics there was consideration of the 4 Es. Some of the categories address them, however, I think that it would be helpful to have all four listed and not just "engagement."
Thoughts on evaluating technology currently:
I believe that evaluating technology is crucial before bringing it into the classroom! It is the only way that we can make sure the tool is enhancing our classroom and not taking away from student's learning. Taking into account the characteristics on the rubrics and creating your own set of guidelines will allow you to meet your goals in the classroom and create an engaging learning environment!
Before we implement different types of technology, it is crucial that we make sure that the tool enhances, engages and makes the classroom a more efficient and effective learning environment. There are many different programs, apps and tools that we can consider using in our classrooms but we must make sure that they improve the classroom and do not cause a distraction or take away from the lesson. For example, if the app that is being introduced to the classroom is too confusing or difficult to navigate, students will not get as much out of the lesson that is being taught because they are focusing on working with the app.
My experience evaluating technology:
In past field experiences, I have had to pick out different apps to teach students how to use. When deciding what apps to introduce to my students, I had to consider the amount of time I had to teach the lesson, how students could use the app in the future and if the app applied to any of the four Es (efficiency, effectiveness, enhancement and engaging). Some of the apps that I took into the classroom did not go as smoothly as planned. I thought that the app was easy to navigate and get familiar with but my students struggled quite a bit and we were not able to make it through the whole lesson. Looking back on this experience I now see the importance of evaluating technology before it comes into the classroom and making sure it is age appropriate for your students and lesson.
Some helpful tips:
A helpful tool you can use when evaluating technology is rubrics. These rubrics can be created by the teacher based on the characteristics you are looking for in technology or they can be taken from the internet. Below are some rubrics that I found helpful when evaluating technology.
When evaluating technology it can also be helpful to collaborate with other teachers. Some teachers in your school may have experience with different technology and using them as a reference for how they use it in their classroom can give you insight to how it can improve your own classroom. Teachers can share what they found worked well with the app, what went wrong, how their students liked it and if they would use it again.
My Evaluation:
The technology tool that I chose to evaluate was Seesaw. Seesaw is an app for the classroom that essentially serves as a classroom blog. It allows for students to post or take pictures of their work to share with their classmate, teachers and parents. I think that this is a great resource for teachers to have in their classroom because it offers different forms of assessment and it enables teachers to easily keep track of student work.
When evaluating Seesaw the first thing I looked for was how easy it was to navigate for teachers, students and parents. I found the app very user friendly and could definitely see it as an improvement to my classroom. One feature I really liked about Seesaw is that it can be used as an app or a website, meaning I can access it from my iPad or from a computer. It displays four tabs: journal, inbox, skills, and blog. I appreciated that under the inbox tab there is an option for students and for parents. The app allows for parents to be extremely connected with their children and their learning which could potentially increase their learning at home. The app also offers training courses for teachers who are unfamiliar with how the app works and different lesson plans they can use to introduce the Seesaw to their students.
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| Seesaw Dashboard |
Great video review of Seesaw
When looking at the different rubrics above, Seesaw scores very high in all the different categories. In particular I really liked how easy it was to customize Seesaw for teachers. The app can be used in classrooms as young as kindergarten to older grades like 4th and 5th grade. Seesaw provides resources to aid teachers in their implementation and different ways that they could potentially use the app in their classroom. This app allows students to engage with one another and collaborate by seeing each others work and comparing it to their own. They can see the different ideas that their peers have and use them to help their understanding of a topic. Lastly, Seesaw does a great job with Feedback. Students can comment and like each other's posts along with teachers. Parents also have access to student's work which allows for them to receive different kinds of feedback from three different parties. Pretty cool!
Overall, I think that the rubrics were a great resource to use when evaluating technology. They presented categories that I would not have thought of on my own. I wish that in the rubrics there was consideration of the 4 Es. Some of the categories address them, however, I think that it would be helpful to have all four listed and not just "engagement."
Thoughts on evaluating technology currently:
I believe that evaluating technology is crucial before bringing it into the classroom! It is the only way that we can make sure the tool is enhancing our classroom and not taking away from student's learning. Taking into account the characteristics on the rubrics and creating your own set of guidelines will allow you to meet your goals in the classroom and create an engaging learning environment!
I love how you stated the 4 E's. I think those are so important when doing anything in the classroom, especially with technology. If anything may lack one of the E's, it probably is not worth using in the classroom. I really liked reading you review of Seesaw also because I have had positive and negative experiences when using it.
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