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Term 1, 2016 marks a new start for many teachers, including myself as I continue my teaching career at a new Western Sydney high school. Beginning or resuming teaching in a new school can be quite daunting particularly in the space of technology.

Investigate, plan and share to successfully teach with technology.

Many schools are implementing BYOD programs that require all or a huge group of students to use their own computing devices to complete their classwork, which then places a demand on teachers to also use a device as their teaching resource. Although this can seem very, very overwhelming, it really needn’t be. So what considerations do I need to think of?

Technology platform

The first thing I did this year was find out which technological platform the school already uses. This could be Google Classroom, Office 365, Edmodo, Moodle etc. By finding this out, you will be able to create and establish an online space that you and your students can go to at the beginning of every lesson whether you are present or absent (which is particularly great for primary school teachers who have an RFF allowance). I find that if used consistently, students will automatically log onto the technological learning platform at the start of every lesson with minimal teacher instruction. Once you have selected a technological learning platform, you can add your teaching and learning instructions and resources on it.

Digital curriculum

Now that a technology platform is in place, it is time to digitalise your curriculum. There are many online collaborative and independent activities that your students can complete online. By using the Capabilities Framework (via the BOSTES website), you will be able to map your course content to learning activities that are stage appropriate. By aiming to include one digital/online task a week, you will soon be developing an innovative and savvy curriculum.

Professional development showcase

Professional development is not just attending a course or listening to your principal talk in a meeting. Sharing resources and showcasing your work to your colleagues (primarily to those in your faculty or year group) is imperative for a technological platform and digital curriculum to be successful. Many teachers simply need to know that a particular digital tool does in fact work and by implementing it into the classroom, there will be minimal risk of failure (or wasting time). I showcase a lot of my work to my colleagues and also through my social media platforms because I truly believe in the motto of working smart not working hard and that all educators should work together to provide our students with the best learning experiences ever!