In the classroom there are many ways to engage, enhance and extend learning using technology. The problem is teachers have trouble defining these terms and actually using them correctly in the classroom when they are integrating technology. In the Article Engage, Enhance and Extend Learning, by Liz Kern-Kolb, she discuses the difference between the three.
When a teacher wants to engage a student, "the teacher is trying to find a way to motivate or interest disengaged students" (Kern-Kolb). By allowing students to be active while learning it makes them focus and stay motivated.
Enhancement is using technology to develop an understanding which could not be accomplished without these tools. "This lets students develop a more sophisticated understanding of the content" (Kern-Kolb). By doing this it creates a way to make it easier for the students to understand the concepts in a way they could not do without technology.
Extension in the classroom is bringing learning outside the classroom into the students everyday lives. This is an important one because learning needs to happen even when they leave school as well as applying it to their daily lives. "It helps them grow as lifelong learners, without the need for the teacher or school" (Kern-Kolb).
Now that I will be in the classroom teaching my Social Studies unit I have to look into ways to use technology to engage, enhance and extend learning. In the Article Engage Students by Embracing Technology, by Brad Kuntz, he brings up good points on using technology to our advantage. "There are still some teachers who think that including technology simply means occasionally using a PowerPoint. We can do better than that" (Kuntz). There is so much available to us nowadays that we should not settle for simple things like PowerPoint. "We need to find a way to embrace all forms of technology in the classroom and use them to our advantage" (Kuntz).
Instead of using PowerPoint, make a SmartBoard activity. This allows students to get involved and enhance their learning. They also could make a Website about a topic and share it with the class. By doing this it engages them in a way that they are not used to doing, but also extends their learning outside of the classroom.
Using technology in the classroom should benefit our students. Not only will it excite them, but it will jumpstart their learning. There are so many ways to do this, that do not even have to be for teaching purposes. Make a class website, to let people know what your class is doing as well as display some of the work the kids have done to share with parents. "A class website can be anything from a basic site where you post announcements, to a much more elaborate one that contains photos"(Haynes).
We have to remember technology is not our enemy even though at times we think it is. There are so many ways it can benefit learning and that is what will help our students not only learn, but remember and enjoy the material.
References:
Haynes, K. (n.d.). 12 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom, Even for Technophobic Teachers. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
Keren-Kolb, Liz. "Engage, Enhance and Extend Learning." Web.
Kuntz, B. (n.d.). Engage Students by Embracing Technology.
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