What is the Technology Footprint in Your Classroom?

What is the Technology Footprint in Your Classroom?

Jan 28, 2011 By David R. Wetzel

What Is The Technology Foot Print In Your Classroom - jaylopez
Strategies and techniques are provided regarding the benefits of using digital tools to support teaching and learning in any content area or grade level.

In contrast to the technology teachers’ use in a classroom for their professional use, what is the technology (digital) footprint students’ use in your classroom? When effectively integrated into teaching and student learning, technology has the power to transform a classroom into an influential learning community. Within this digital community students use technology tools to create collaborative and personal learning networks to support their learning.

So what is the technology footprint? This is the digital toolbox containing offline and online technology tools and programs students select from as they complete assignments or projects. These digital tools may include and not limited to computers, iPod Touches, cell phones, online problem solving situations, blogs, podcasts, interactive websites, and other Web 2.0 tools.

Benefits of Optimizing a Classroom Digital Footprint: Building a Learning Community
Through optimizing the power of digital footprint within your classroom, students benefit by transforming from passive to active learners. The effective use of education technology components – hardware, software, interactive websites, online research sources, and blogs or wikis – means movement beyond the novelty of using technology. When incorporating technology within your curriculum, it must leverage students’ prior knowledge and experiences (PKE) with content.

By leveraging students’ PKE with technology components comprising a digital footprint, they are able to build learning communities within and outside the classroom. These communities are often referred to as personal learning networks. Regardless of term used, when describing this technology, group work has moved into the 21st century.

Using a classroom's digital toolbox students are gain new content knowledge with the assistance of technology to support collaborative team work and learning, instead of playing games or texting. This is an important skill they will need later in life as they enter the 21st century workforce.

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