The use of technology in classes nowadays is becoming a necessity. Most educators are using technology superficially and they are not diving deep into its strengths and potential. This technologist module acts as a guide for every educator interested in integrating technologies in a way that supports, facilitates, and enriches learning experiences as well as cater for all students’ differences.
In this article, the Technologist Module first discusses the digital literacy which is the ability to locate, use, summarize, evaluate, create and communicate information while using digital technologies and web-based platforms. Then, clearly outlines an approach to design thinking that follows the path Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Connect and Test.
Design thinking starts with empathy. Gather information from and about your learners to understand what they need and their interests.
The second step is to define, which means narrowing in and identifying a challenge based on the information gathered from your learners.
Then ideate: build the ideal characteristics of how this tool could address the learner’s challenges, but when choosing your tool, make sure it is a good fit for your students, course, program, and institution.
Then, come the time to design a prototype of your creation. Dig into your tool to learn more about it, share your creation with your peers and learners to obtain feedback. Based on their responses, refine your creation.
Finally, connect your creation to the curriculum and link it to the learning outcomes.
I learned throughout this course how to become more comfortable with integrating technology and step out of my comfort zone, but this module showed me a different aspect of integrating technology which is using technology tools to address specific learning challenges. In my practicum, I did not use technology much, but I noticed that few students, who were not so interested in classes, got so excited and attracted to the lesson when using technology. Relating my experience to the article, I think that integrating technology in classes serve a bigger role by providing differentiation tools to address all learners. I used pictograph again for this multimedia reflection, I find this platform easy to navigate. This time, I explored it further and I am happy with the result.
