Where is my place in the digital plane?

(This article is meant to be a personal reflection after several trainings and my own experience with digital in the classroom. In any case, I do not claim to have the key to success, but I think these tips can be useful.)

Several weeks ago, the Quebec government presented us with its digital action plan and a framework in the form of a cogwheel with all the aspects to help our students become responsible (ethical) and skilled digital citizens. As a teacher, where to start? Should we be afraid of integrating technologies into our classes? How to succeed in doing it well? This is the fruit of my humble reflection.

Taming and Searching

First of all, you have to tame the beast. What tools are available to you and the students in your community? Chromebooks? IPads? Computers? Take the time to explore and try them out. It is important to start somewhere and you shouldn't be afraid to ask questions. On YouTube, there are loads of tutorials that can help you fully understand the apps or platforms. Take the time to consult them.

Here is a link to the RÉCIT website which offers self-training in connection with the integration of Chromebooks.

Apple also offers formations directly in its stores.

Choose according to your needs

It is clearly stated in the plan that digital technology must be at the service of education and not the other way around. You don't use technology just to use it; there must be an educational intention of empowerment, development and learning behind our approach. Thereby, what skills do you want your students to acquire? Whether in French, in the social world, in mathematics, science, English, plastic arts or ethics and religious culture, technology offers you endless possibilities. Target a lesson and take the time to choose the platform or application that will best serve you according to the goal you have set for yourself.  

Here are applications that can be useful in several subjects. These are dissemination, sharing and / or creation platforms. Take the time to watch them and try them out:

Collaborate and share

Once you have decided to familiarize yourself with the tools present in your environment and with the different applications that correspond to your teaching intentions, now is the time to dive in, create and use. To get there, why not pair up with a colleague who could support you? You can also enlist the help of an educational advisor or a skilled friend with the platforms you want to use. You may well feel out of your comfort zone when you first introduce a project or activity to your students. This is a good sign: any change is uncomfortable! The point is to be comfortably uncomfortable… you see?  Push your limits! And surround yourself with the right people to support you.

Knowing well that the implementation of digital technology will not be done in the same way for everyone, the government invites us to share the activities or projects that we are setting up. In addition, several teaching partners offer a wide choice of turnkey equipment. For example, the STORY, the SCOOP guides! École branchée, the profweb and several others offer us online documents containing the concepts to be taught, the applications to be used, the links with the progression of learning and any other relevant information to know. Go explore and above all, share your discoveries in your community. Collaboration is at the heart of the success of this plan!

To finish, give yourself time. There's no rush, it's much better to do things right at your own pace than to do them quickly without thinking. The goal behind this approach is to create responsible and skilled digital citizens. To do this, we must ourselves act in an involved and responsible manner in our teaching. Do not see technology as an additional task, but as a way to renew, improve and achieve our ends. I'll leave you with a sketchnote on the digital citizen, if that inspires you.

Good luck, dear colleagues!

Several resources are available in Carrefour education on:

Kahoot  

• Kahoot: The interactive quiz
• How Kahoot works
• In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.Use Kahoot to create interactive quizzes

Google education  

• basic training
• advanced training

The different STORIES  

• National RECIT service for preschool education
• National service of the RÉCIT in the field of the arts
• National RECIT Service - Mathematics, Science and Technology
• National RECIT service in the field of the social universe
• STORY OF PRIVATE EDUCATION
• RÉCIT service at the FGA (General Adult Education)
• STORY Campus