Pedagogy before Technology

             Raise your hand if you remember playing Oregon Trail on a green screen computer or if you

had to rewind your VHS before returning it to Blockbuster. These past normalities are something that

students of today cannot relate to in our digital age. I was born in 1978 and grew up with technology

that looked very different from today. I remember in elementary school when we got our first color

screen MacIntosh at school, and I came home in eighth grade excited to tell Mom about this new thing

called the internet where we could send messages to people worldwide. How times and technology

have changed! With this change, we are charged as educators and librarians to keep up to ensure our

students are prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. 

Students today view technology differently because of their experiences with technology. Reading the Marist Mindset List, many items resonated with me, especially that for current students, "the primary use of a phone has always been to take pictures" (Nief et al., 2019). Reflecting on this, I thought about how we used to take pictures in the not-so-distant past. It involved film canisters and waiting for prints to be developed. We were limited in the number of pictures we could take and had to wait until we picked up our prints to see how they looked. Now, we use our phones to instantly snap a picture, add filters, and distribute it to whomever we like in seconds. This is how far we have come with simply taking pictures; this is our students' normal. "Noting what has "always" or "never" been true in [our students'] lifetimes'' will help us to better understand what they have experienced and meet their learning needs (Nief et al., 2019). Students of today view technology as a necessity: something to rely on. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly common and is viewed as a way to make things easier. While I agree that technology has made some aspects of our lives easier and has enriched our lives in many ways, through the lens of education, I view technology as a tool that we use to explain our thinking and share our thoughts and knowledge. Whether it be a Facebook post or a book review, technology has allowed us a venue to share our ideas and thoughts with the world instantly. Technology has also given us unlimited access to information at our fingertips. Students are no longer limited to searching through a card catalog, going to a shelf to retrieve the corresponding book in hopes that it meets their information needs. 

Our universal goal in education is to prepare our students to be life-long learners and productive community members. Learning happens in the absence of technology. For centuries, humankind has invented, discovered, and created without technology. We created technology, and as such, technology is a tool for learning and not the foundation. In response to the differing views of technology in the classroom, we can look at Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive objectives that have been used to guide instruction for decades. "Bloom's in its various forms represents the process of learning," and this is the foundation for building and facilitating learning (Churches, 2008, p. 4). Bloom's Taxonomy has been adjusted to current educational trends. The change "is the use of verbs rather than nouns for each of the categories and a rearrangement of the sequence within the taxonomy" (Churches, 2008, p. 3). This change has moved 'creating' to the highest level in Bloom's digital taxonomy (Puentendura, 2016). Thinking about this move, in the realm of technology, there are countless forums for students to create to showcase and internalize their learning. Technology can be used as a tool at every level, and "the creating process involves aspects at all levels" (Schrock, 2011). As educators, we need to be prepared to support our students and their application of technology at all levels. 

All the objectives [in Bloom's] are interconnected and can be enhanced by using technology (Schrock, 2011). Kathy Schrock transferred the revised Bloom's Taxonomy to highlight the "interlocking nature of the cognitive processes or, simply, the Cogs of the Cognitive Processes" (Schrock, 2011). Her guide includes technology tools that support Bloom's at each level. Teaching students how to apply and implement technology is now the norm in the classroom. As students view technology as essential to their everyday lives, we must teach them how and when it can be used in their education. To be successful in this endeavor, educators must understand current trends in technology and find ways to incorporate them into the classroom. This can be a challenge because of students' reliance on technology. For example, students do not need to apply spelling rules when texting or posting; autocorrect and spell check do this for them. This does not mean they should not learn to spell or produce grammatically correct original work.

I have seen how technology has impacted my young kindergarten students over the past twenty-two years. When I first began teaching, students loved to color and write. Most came to school with experiences coloring and holding a writing utensil. Most current students have never held a pencil or colored with a crayon, but they know how to get to YouTube on their mom's phone and text their family members. At the beginning of the year, much time is spent on correcting pencil grips and strengthening the muscles in their hands to enable them to write and color legibly. Having witnessed this change over time, it has framed my thoughts on implementing technology in the classroom as an important tool to enhance and extend learning, not supplant essential skills.

Reflecting on all of this information and experiences, how will this transfer to my future role as a librarian? Technology is not going away; it is a permanent fixture in our world and constantly changing. Libraries are the learning and information hub of the school, and as we have shifted into a digital age, they have been transformed into a digital hub as well. Modern libraries are curators of information, tools, and strategies (McClintock Miller & Bass, 2019, p. 1). The librarian's role has morphed from being the provider of books and information to include becoming a digital mentor. Librarians must be leaders in the fields of education, technology, and information (McClintock Miller & Bass, 2019, p. 1). As librarians, we support technology implementation in the classroom, teaching students to be digitally responsible and information-literate. 

Keeping up with the current trends in technology is vital to understanding how students of today learn and what they need to learn to be successful. Some careers that were not around ten or fifteen years ago are what we need to prepare students for. Providing space for students to be innovative and creative enables the ability to personalize learning, which increases students' engagement and achievement. Innovation focused CTE spaces utilize the latest technologies and teaching practices to prepare students for the yet-to-be-invented careers of tomorrow (Clarity Innovations, n.d.). The library is the perfect place to encourage, facilitate, and support this type of learning. Librarians are digital leaders who are mentors for students and staff on campus. Through the digitalization of the learning experience, both teachers and students are able to improve their skills and create a more engaging and effective learning experience (Clarity Innovations, n.d.). This is what we all desire as educators: students to be engaged in their learning and be able to transfer and apply what they have learned to be successful. 

There is plenty to consider when using technology in today's classrooms. Keeping our why at the forefront when implementing the how is essential to the success of our students. How students learn and demonstrate their learning has shifted with the use of technology. It is our responsibility to ensure our students are prepared to navigate our technological world and be critical thinkers, effective communicators, creators, and collaborators. Digital tools and technology in the classroom help support this goal as we prepare our students for their future.
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References

Churches, A. (2008, May 26). Bloom's digital taxonomy. ccconline.org. https://www.ccconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Churches_2008_DigitalBloomsTaxonomyGuide.pdf

Clarity Innovations. (n.d.). K-12 Blueprint. k12blueprint.com. Retrieved June 5, 2024, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits

McClintock Miller, S., & Bass, W. (2019). Leading from the library. Help your school community thrive in the digital age. International Society for Technology in Education.

Nief, R., McBride, Westerberg, Shaffer, & Zurhellen. (2019, August 21). The first Marist mindset list. Marist. https://www.marist.edu/w/marist-news-the-first-marist-mindset-list-is-released

Puentendura, Dr. (2016, July 12). Bloom's digital taxonomy [Video]. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy

Schrock, K. (2011, March 5). Kathy Schrock's guide to everything. schrockguide.net. Retrieved June 5, 2024, from https://www.schrockguide.net/bloomin-apps.html