How Online Teaching Has Changed The Way We Use Technology

3/27/2022

Using Technology For Online Teaching

Online teaching has changed the way technology is used at school. Online teaching became necessary when the pandemic shut down in-person instruction. A while back I asked teachers about some of the teaching challenges they faced during the pandemic and shared this with you.

I also asked teachers: What is something good that has come out of online teaching for you?

Here are some of responses they gave me about online teaching.
"Lots of new digital skills learned"
"Have learned a little more about technology. Have learned I would not want to work in an office setting"
"Parents are more aware of what we are working on and they are more aware of what technology and resources are available. I have learned more about using digital resources in the classroom."
"We worked lots on class community and helping each other out. (this year since we have been in person)"

How Online Teaching Changed The Way We Use Technology. School bus and smartphone with classroom image.

How Technology Could Impact Teaching Styles

For many teachers, using technology as a teaching tool was something foreign and they had to learn how to incorporate it into their teaching style. For others, they were very familiar with using digital media and they were very comfortable with it. They actually were happy to add this medium into their teaching.

Whichever camp you were in, you made it work during the online teaching aspect of your teaching as best you could. I am sure there are many teachers that were glad to have their students back in the classroom so they could return to their comfort level again, but I suspect that even those teachers will now be adding in some digital aspects to their teaching day.

Comfort levels will vary. Woman instructing in from of smartphone.

Pre-pandemic Use Of Technology

Pre-pandemic, computer labs were part of the weekly routine. Some classes had access to projectors, interactive whiteboards, tablets, or other electronic devices.

Some teachers had limited experience with technology and used it in specific situations. They may have been comfortable with projecting videos on the whiteboard or maybe even projecting documents and other objects from a document camera. For many, most of the devices were part of the reading and math centers.

Other teachers were very comfortable with technology and they may have included interactive lessons on the whiteboard (or Smartboard, if they had access to one). They would have integrated technology into many areas of their instruction. At any point of the day, you would probably have seen technology in action in some form.

Online teaching helped with learning how to use digital devices. Teacher doing an online lesson.

Shifting Our Use Of Technology

As we move towards a more "normal" way of teaching, I suspect there will be some changes to how we do our lessons.

For teachers that had limited experience using technology in the classroom, they may now feel more confident and use more technology for different subjects.

For those who were very comfortable with the online teaching, it will be somewhat challenging at times for them as they juggle balancing technology based activities with no tech activities. This may be especially true for teachers that started their careers during the pandemic.

Using technology for teaching will be up to individual teachers, but I don't think it will ever disappear from the classroom scene.

Use of technology in classrooms will remain. Teacher holding tablet and students raising hands

In a previous post, I talked about how kids can help teachers with technology. This might be useful for teachers who are less familiar with technology to check out. Kids are great at using technology and living in a digital world and they might enjoy being the teachers.

For those who are very confident with technology, there is the danger of using it too much. Too much of a good thing can sometimes cause a negative situation. It is important to find a balance between the benefits of using technology in the classroom and having some no-tech times to work on other areas of SEL.

It is important to find a balance. Students using tablets and teacher working with a small group

A final thought: You know your students and what works best for them. Use that as your thermometer to decide what is a healthy balance for high tech and no tech instruction. Remember to factor in your comfort level as well. It is up to individual teachers to make those decisions. I am only making some observations and sharing some ideas based on what I am seeing and hearing from some teachers, kids and parents.