I heard a quote the other day, "The phone your students are using now will be the most obsolete device they will ever have." Interesting to think about. We work so hard trying to provide students the latest and greatest but the truth is technology moves so fast we can not possibly provide them with the most current technology available. This presents us with a dilemma. We can train teachers to work the newest devices and navigate the most up-to-date software but this cycle is never ending. Professional development on a single program or device is not worth our teachers' time. Instead we should not focus on the tool, but the teaching. How can we affect pedagogy no matter which tool we use? There are hundreds of programs for creating a blended learning course, most with only slight variations. Let's show teachers the fundamentals of what makes an instructionally sound blended class and let them use the help button to find out where the calendar is. What ever 21st century teaching model we are presenting: flipped classroom, online discussions, project based learning, gamification, interdisciplinary learning, etc. we should focus on the pedagogy not the product. The tools change day to day but good teaching practices remain for years to come.
-Michelle Bothel
-Michelle Bothel
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