If you were tasked with chopping down a tree with a sizable trunk, would you reach for a hand saw? Why not? That's what your great-great grandfather would have done! It would work, wouldn't it?
The answer, of course, is that we would use the best and most efficient tool for the task, and that wouldn't be a hand saw.
We can't get SO caught up in insisting on tech that we are using it even when it might not be the best tool, but neither can we so firmly rebuke tech that we deprive our kids of the very tools their futures will require.
Sometimes apps such as the one above or a ten-frame app are a teacher's best friend.
1. They reinforce something important that could also be done paper and pencil. Two learning stations reinforce the one important skill, but the activities feel so different to the students that they stay engaged.
2. They are not difficult for students to use independently, so they allow teachers to have a few minutes to pull small groups without numerous interruptions.
Now no one is climbing to the top branches of the SAMR tree with apps like these. The teacher of this kindergarten classroom knows her purpose on this day, and this tech choice is getting her students there!
The answer, of course, is that we would use the best and most efficient tool for the task, and that wouldn't be a hand saw.
We can't get SO caught up in insisting on tech that we are using it even when it might not be the best tool, but neither can we so firmly rebuke tech that we deprive our kids of the very tools their futures will require.
Sometimes apps such as the one above or a ten-frame app are a teacher's best friend.
1. They reinforce something important that could also be done paper and pencil. Two learning stations reinforce the one important skill, but the activities feel so different to the students that they stay engaged.
2. They are not difficult for students to use independently, so they allow teachers to have a few minutes to pull small groups without numerous interruptions.
Now no one is climbing to the top branches of the SAMR tree with apps like these. The teacher of this kindergarten classroom knows her purpose on this day, and this tech choice is getting her students there!