Post #2: Instructional Technologies

This past spring I completed a course at Duquesne about instructional technologies for educators, wherein I was informed of various (free) online programs that teachers made use of before and during the pandemic. It’s no secret that teachers had to get creative when conducting partially or fully online classes, and I believe these technologies are innovative by means of redefining participation and comprehension in the classroom. These technologies can be used from any computer (and some even by a cellular device). Below is a list of, what I found to be, the most easy-to-use and effective instructional technologies:

Padlet is a virtual bulletin board which allows real-time collaboration with other users. Students can add ideas using “sticky notes,” images, documents, and videos, just to name a few. There’s no account required for student use, and it’s available to use no matter where students are, when given an invitation to join. As a future math teacher, I found this tool to be useful for students to share their work from practice problems, as they can upload an image of their work (as only one example). As for my peers who are future teachers in the subjects of English and Social Studies, they found this useful as well for students to post their ideas or recall vocabulary terms or events. 

Flipgrid is an easy-to-use video discussion service for students and teachers. The teacher posts a question or a video explaining what students need to do, and students post audio or video responses to the teacher and to each others’ videos. It can be used in subjects such as English and Social Studies to serve as an assessment or discussion tool on concepts or stories, and for math it can be used to explain theorems or ideas while possibly utilizing the white board feature (where students can draw out what they’re thinking). 

Nearpod is a great K-12 tool for interactive lessons, videos, and formative assessments. It is a great spin on your typical presentation technology wherein students can watch presentations in either an asynchronous setting or in real-time on their computer as the teacher is going over it. Teachers can also add videos, assessment questions, virtual reality simulations, and websites to enhance student experience. Teachers can also get real-time insight into student learning during the lesson as a result of formative assessment questions students answer during the presentation. It can be utilized for any subject area at any level, as peers of mine have even used this service in elementary settings. 

Although the list of other technologies and services that are beneficial for educators is infinite, these are three instructional technologies that I know I’ll be implementing into my classroom one day. I believe that if it weren’t for the pandemic some of these programs may not have been discovered or used by educators to the degree they are used today, and it’s my hope that teachers continue to see the benefits of these services for student learning going forward. 

Photo Source: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/events/82809