The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) created by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology is similar to the one that I recently discovered on Arizona’s K12 Center. Returning to Arizona’s site I did see the fine print stating it was adapted from Florida’s TIM.
I watched some of the videos that were created by Florida teachers to support the matrix and noticed some interesting things.
One video was speaking about the benefit of keyboarding and showed the students using TyperShark website. The students were playing the game and having fun but they were using the wrong fingers and
looking at the monitor then the keyboard. This is teaching incorrect technology skills and is a disservice to children. It begs the questions: “Can a classroom teacher supervise and instill correct technology foundational skills?” “Can students learn skills on their own?”
In another video a teacher had the students document a math process by recording their voices explaining the concept and creating slides showing the math work. He then edited each student’s voice, edited the slides, timed the slides to the audio and created a video. How long did this take to create for the student and for the teacher? What other skills were not taught due to the time creating the video? What tech skills did the students learn if the teacher did the editing, revising, and creation of the video?
Are we striving for excellence in our students or are we striving to display projects that look excellent?
