Digital Tools in Digital Environments

In his TED talk, Mitra described the education system as “not broken” but somewhat obsolete. According to him, technology has made schools less relevant, given that we have countless resources that allow us to learn. Mitra illustrated this with a fascinating experiment called “The Hole in the Wall,” in which he experimented with low-income children in India. He gave them a computer and let them learn how to use it. The experiment showed that technology can provide positive results and make us learn. Today we can do almost everything ourselves, thanks to technology. It was an unexpected transition that marked the beginning of a new era of learning for us.

Some time ago I worked with some students who were all working on the same geography project; they were simply given different problems to solve together. The students had to research and look for information about the galaxy. I gave them a computer to do the projects on and I was impressed by the kind of things they were able to create. The projects the students presented were very informative, showing that the students learned a lot from them. They did a ton of research and delivered more than they expected.

I love giving kids the freedom to explore the vastness of the internet and figure out how to do it on their own. Google and all the apps for Classlink (which help students learn math XtraMath, Prodigy, Istation, and for reading Seesaw, ABCya, and Starfall). The kids are already familiar with these tools and use them as part of a daily routine.

After many years of teaching, I realized that it is very important to know what our students need and what they are good at when we choose the tools we want to use for better learning in the classroom. I have practiced this for years, and it has always helped me.