Not 'just' another tool....

My parents just about remember writing in chalk, on blackboards. Then along came the pencil and paper and revolutionised learning. Well not really. It just let teachers and students do what they had always done, but better, faster, and more conveniently.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thecampbells/3005650135

So how do we make sure that technology doesn't become another story of the pencil and paper, and just make things better, faster and more convenient?

To me it seems obvious. And yet so often I see technology employed to do pretty much exactly the same things as have always been done in class, but on a screen. And sometimes, even the 'electronic worksheet' makes an appearance, a more depressing use of technology I can't imagine.

I think, a clear indicator of how effectively you will use technology to support learning is how you facilitate learning without technology? Do you seek out imaginative methods of supporting learning? Do students have autonomy in your class, do they understand the bigger picture of what they are learning? Do your students look forward to coming to your class and enjoy the challenges of learning with you?

If these things are not happening at all in your current teaching and learning, then dumping a bunch of technology in your class is mainly going to be a large waste of everyone's time and money.

http://pr0tean.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/transformational-technology-simple.html

If you don't want to waste time and money, have a read of this explanation of the SAMMS acronym. Match it up with the commonly referenced SAMR model of transforming learning with technology. Then reflect carefully on your practice. It's too important an opportunity to let your students down on.

Using technology to increase engagement?

Don't.

Simply put, it's a mistake. If you use technology purely to increase your students' engagement with their learning, then you are wasting your time, and more importantly, your learners' time.

Yes, it may happen that you can perceive an increase in students engagement when using technology, but that is not a reason to use it. This is because as the technology becomes embedded, it loses its initial excitement, the novelty factor, and becomes another facilitator of learning. Like a pencil. An incredibly powerful and effective pencil. But still like a tool to be used for learning. How many teachers claim to introduce the use of a pencil to increase student engagement? None, you'd be mad to. Unless pencils are used so infrequently that they then become a novelty, then they may work, briefly. 

Guess what? Technology such as iPads are not a novelty to students. So many have them, or have used them already that although they may be new to the teacher, they are not actually that special to the students. Being allowed to use them in school is a novelty. But that soon wears off if you are using them to achieve the same things that you have always achieved. If one of your main foci is to increase engagement, then there is the temptation to miss the opportunity to take learning to different levels. In fact, if engagement is a substantial issue for your class, then you probably need to take a hard look at how you are organising learning in your class anyway, never mind throwing technology into the mix.

The novelty of technology increases engagement for almost all students.  But as soon as the tasks on technology becomes schoolwork, then play becomes work.  If the students are not motivated by their schoolwork, it doesn't matter how it is completed, they'll still not be motivated.