Pick the Right Tech
A teacher wants students to quickly show what they already know about a topic before beginning a lesson. What type of technology could the teacher use?
A quick digital poll, quiz, or response tool that allows the teacher to see student responses.
A teacher displays a video during a lesson and wants students to actively use the information they learn from it. What could the teacher add?
A task that requires students to respond to, discuss, apply, or create something using information from the video.
Students are learning about weather and using a digital tool to create a short weather report. How are students using technology?
They are using technology to create a product that demonstrates what they learned.
A student finds an image online and wants to use it in a class presentation. What should the student check before using it?
Whether the student has permission to use the image and how it should be credited.
A teacher adds a video to a lesson. What is one feature that can make the video more accessible to students?
Captions.
Students are working in small groups and need to develop one product together, even though each student is contributing different information. What type of technology would best support this activity?
A shared collaborative tool that allows students to contribute to and edit the same product.
Students are learning about the parts of a plant. Instead of only showing them a digital diagram, what could the teacher have students do with technology?
Create or label their own digital diagram showing the parts of a plant and their functions.
A teacher wants students to demonstrate their understanding of a historical event. What is one technology-based option that allows students to create rather than only receive information?
Students could create a digital presentation, video, podcast, timeline, or other multimedia product explaining the event.
A teacher wants students to create accounts for a new classroom app. What should the teacher consider before asking students to sign up?
What student information the app collects and whether the tool protects student privacy.
A teacher creates a class website. Students say they have trouble finding assignments and resources. What should the teacher improve?
The organization and navigation so students can easily locate what they need.
A teacher finds an interactive digital tool that students really enjoy. Before using it in tomorrow’s lesson, what should the teacher consider first?
Whether the tool supports the lesson’s learning goal and what students are expected to learn or do.
A teacher uses an interactive presentation during instruction. Students answer questions throughout the lesson, and the teacher uses their responses to decide whether to review or move forward. How is the technology supporting instruction?
It allows the teacher to check student understanding and adjust instruction based on student responses.
Students create a digital product with pictures, text, and audio. What should guide their decisions about which multimedia elements to include?
The multimedia elements should help communicate the content clearly and support the learning goal.
A student uses information from a website in a digital project. What should the student do to use the information responsibly?
Give credit to the source and follow appropriate copyright and citation practices.
A teacher posts an important assignment as an image containing a large amount of text. What could the teacher do to make the information more accessible?
Provide the information in an accessible text format rather than relying only on an image.
Students need to demonstrate their understanding of a concept. The teacher can have them complete an online multiple-choice quiz or create a short multimedia explanation. The learning goal requires students to explain and apply the concept. Which option is the stronger technology choice, and why?
The multimedia explanation because it gives students an opportunity to explain and apply their understanding rather than only select an answer.
A teacher wants students to learn how to compare two characters in a story. She has found a colorful presentation with information about both characters. What could she change to make the technology more useful for student learning?
Have students use the technology to actively compare the characters—for example, organizing evidence, responding to questions, or creating their own comparison.
Students can choose to demonstrate their understanding by creating a narrated presentation, short video, or digital poster. Why might providing these choices support student learning?
Students have different ways to demonstrate the same learning while working toward the same learning goal.
Students are using AI to brainstorm ideas for a class project. What is one responsibility students still have when creating their final product?
Students should use their own thinking to evaluate, develop, and verify the information and take responsibility for the final work.
A teacher is choosing between two digital tools that accomplish the same instructional purpose. One has clear navigation, readable text, captions, and accessibility features. The other has more special effects but fewer accessibility features. Which is the stronger choice, and why?
The first tool because it supports the learning goal while making the content more accessible and usable for students.
A teacher plans to use a new digital tool for an upcoming lesson. The tool supports the learning goal and allows students to create and share their work. Before making the final decision to use it, what else should the teacher consider?
Whether the tool is accessible and usable for the students, appropriate for the classroom, and allows all students to participate successfully.
Two teachers use the same digital presentation tool. Teacher A presents information while students watch. Teacher B uses it to present information, ask students to respond, check understanding, and adjust the lesson based on their responses. What makes Teacher B’s use of technology stronger?
The technology is being used as part of the teaching and learning process—students actively participate, the teacher checks understanding, and the responses help guide instruction.
A group creates an impressive multimedia presentation with animations, music, images, and video. However, several features make the main idea difficult to understand. What should the students change?
Keep the multimedia features that help communicate the content and remove or revise features that distract from the learning.
A teacher finds a free website with an excellent activity that fits the learning goal. The site asks students to enter their full names, birth dates, and email addresses before participating. What should the teacher do before using it?
Review the site’s privacy and data practices and determine whether it is appropriate and safe for students before asking them to provide personal information.
A teacher has selected a digital activity that supports the learning goal, but one student cannot use the activity in the same way as classmates. What should guide the teacher’s next decision?
Provide an accessible way for the student to participate and demonstrate the same learning without changing the learning goal.