Throughout my training I believed that a good teacher was a teacher with a good PowerPoint. I remember planning every single aspect of my lessons on a PowerPoint presentation and believing that I must absolutely rigidly stick to the PowerPoint otherwise, the lessons was going off plan. Two years in and thankfully I have seen the light, the PowerPoint doesn’t make the teacher and in fact its often liberating to teach without one!
For a long time, this was the only technology I was exposed to in my pedagogy. All my lessons were planned on PowerPoint and delivered through PowerPoint, and it wasn’t until this year I started to look into the many already existing and also the new and emerging technologies that can be used to digitally enhance learning in the RE classroom as I believe that RE can often be a subject not linked with using technology much. It all started with the trusty visualiser, I love using a visualiser, it allows me to live mark and plan and answer exam questions right in-front of my students, giving them an opportunity not only to open up the exam specification but also to see the thought process behind answering a GCSE style question. This new addition to my teaching and learning got me thinking of the many different ways we can integrate tech into our classrooms not only with the aim of supporting pupil progress and collecting assessment data but also with the hope of engaging pupils with the subject. My next step was to set up a departmental website on Weebly with revision guides for KS4 and homework support for KS3 classes. We were able to create QR codes to be stuck in planners that meant pupils could scan and access all of the information they needed on their phones and tablet devices. Recently, I completed the Apple Teacher qualification which opened my eyes to the potential apple technology has in the classroom. It’s ability to allow me to teach with apps such as Quizlet and Nearpod which not only allow me to assess learning in real time and collect and store formative assessment data, but they also afford me the opportunity to open up the real world from within my classroom. Nearpod allows you the opportunity to walk your pupils through the Sistine Chapel so that they can see the Creation of Adam painting in all of its glory, the way it was intended. Technology gives us the opportunity to instil a sense of awe and wonder in our pupils, they perhaps other pedagogies don’t. However, probably the most revolutionary technology I use to enhance my teaching is twitter! Twitter is full of dedicated and knowledge rich teachers with tons of ideas that they want to share with others in the profession. I use twitter everyday, and often signpost other teachers that use tech in the classroom, and whilst I’m fairly new to the world of digitally enhanced teaching you can follow me @tjones_m. My final thought is this, technology without pedagogy is useless. In order to properly integrate technology into the classroom successfully first ask your self the question “what for?”. If the answer is because it will genuinely enhance your teaching, then great go for it, however, sometimes sticking to a PowerPoint and a whiteboard is ok too.
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AuthorMatthew Jones - Teacher of Religious Education |