Technology has become an essential part of the world’s everyday life. The students that we are working with today have never known a world without daily technology use. I think there are many wonderful uses and advantages to using technology in education but with that must come knowledge of using that technology correctly.
Incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy is essential to drive student learning to the next level. We as teachers are always being asked to incorporate higher order thinking skills into our lessons, activities, questioning and student engagement practices. Teaching itself has undergone a transformation from teacher-led/centered to student-centered. I think the update to Bloom's Taxonomy is reflected in the change from the nouns to the verbs. We want students to be taking an active role in their learning and with the revised version, educators are better able to keep the focus on the student’s role . Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy helps bring this way of creating lessons, which was primarily focused on the “main” subjects (since that’s what has been around since Bloom’s time) and brings these thinking skills to life for the digital age.
As someone who grew up when technology was beginning to make its way into our homes and schools, I view technology in education as a wonderful tool to help enhance student learning. But for the children we are teaching, for them it is a way of life. Most of the students we teach have always lived in a world with iPhones. Technology and the internet has essentially always been at their fingertips. They are used to being able to access technology as soon as they need and finding the information that they need nearly instantly. But since there can be such a gray area with technology (biased, unsubstantiated, or otherwise incorrect information), this is where we as educators are crucial to teaching our students how to properly use technology in schools. There are wonderful educational apps that can help students practice the skills that they are learning in class, but there are also apps that are all flash and no substance. We as educators, and especially librarians, can find the digital tools that will not only help our students with the lower level skills but also how to use technology to use higher order thinking. We also must teach our students the proper way to navigate the internet and all technology.
I also believe that technology is a tool to better students' education, because technology can never replace an educated professional. There are so many subtle nuances to teaching, to knowing our students, to knowing and connecting with the communities that we teach in. Even with the current surge of AI, a computer can never replace an educator. With all the apps, sites, and internet, there is an almost limitless amount of knowledge that we can use to support our students' learning. And because of the vastness of technology, our students have an almost unlimited ability to expand their learning and express themselves. They have so many more opportunities and experiences at their disposal then we did growing up. But again, they need a trained professional to help guide them through the use and understanding of technology.
There is always some new, trendy app or site that is popular within the education community. It can change because of new technology that's available or what’s the latest fad or what the school district has deemed best practice. It can be a challenge as a teacher to keep up with that, as well as every other thing that is on our plates. Between lessons, testing, meetings, parents, admin, etc. it can be hard to find the time to learn more about new technology and become comfortable enough with it to incorporate it into our classrooms. This is where I think librarians have the better opportunity to be leaders of technology in schools. They have a hand in seeing every student in the school and they see them in a more academic setting than Specials teachers do. Since research is already a part of the library, and technology has become an integral part of that, it’s a natural extension for librarians to be able to instruct students in technology. Librarians are already seen as the threshold to information. That used to mean the library collection, databases, and research tools. The 21st century version of that includes the internet and other educational technology. And as the way of teaching students has evolved from teacher-led to student-oriented, using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to engage students higher order thinking has become more and more the accepted best practices. We want students to take more ownership of their learning and show what they have learned instead of just regurgitating facts. Technology allows our students a whole world of possibilities to create and extend their learning.
As librarians, we can be leaders in technology for our students, schools, and communities. We can take that responsibility to continue our learning and be on the lookout for what is the latest, and best, education technology that is out there. And we can work collaboratively with everyone to bring them that information and how to properly use it. Technology is the way of the future and as librarians, we can be the ones at the forefront of educating the next generation of technology.
References
Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. (2017, November 9). Common Sense Education. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy
Churches, A. (2008, May 26). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. 3-7. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ccconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Churches_2008_DigitalBloomsTaxonomyGuide.pdf
Greene, R. T. (2023, April 27). The Pros And Cons Of Using AI In Learning: Is ChatGPT Helping Or Hindering Learning Outcomes? eLearning Industry. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/pros-and-cons-of-using-ai-in-learning-chatgpt-helping-or-hindering-learning-outcomes
McBride, T. (2019, August 21). The First Marist Mindset List is Released. Marist College. Retrieved from https://www.marist.edu/w/marist-news-the-first-marist-mindset-list-is-released
Montgomery, A., & Mingis, K. (2023, November 13). The evolution of Apple's iPhone. Computerworld. Retrieved from https://www.computerworld.com/article/3692531/evolution-of-apple-iphone.html
Schrock, K. (2022). Bloomin' Apps. Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. Retrieved from https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html
Tools and resources to drive your technology initiatives. (n.d.). K-12 Blueprint. Retrieved from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits