4 Cs of Technology

By Julianne PaulhusINST51020

The 4 Cs of Technology

Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, & Creativity

Communication is vital in the world of education. Technology has made it possible to communicate much easier and with people all over the world. Communication goes hand in hand with the next C, Collaboration. These two together are what push us forward and help us grow as people and educators. Personally I feel that technology opens a whole new world of communication and makes our jobs as educators much easier.

Communication

Students:1. Fun projects in which students communicate with other teachers and classes in our building(sending letters or pictues to their "mail box"2. Sending emails as a class to show students how you can communicate quickly with technology3. My school does a "Mystery Readers" week and we allow family members to zoom call and read our class a book. We have had family members call in from all over the country

Teacher:1. Easy communicaton with colleagues, parents, and students via email, phone calls, video calls, etc. 2. Quick and fun communication with classroom apps such as Dojo or Seesaw(I use Seesaw in my classroom to send daily pictures and updates to families)

How I use Communication

Collaboration is the next C and in my opinion the most important and most prominent in the world of educational technology. Collaboration is how we better ourselves as educators. It is also how we challenge our students and give them real world experience working with their peers. Collaborating in a skill that will follow students through their whole lives and be so beneficial to them across all areas of life, work, and school.

Collaboration

Student Examples:1. Working with other students on one presentation or assignment using google drive2. I want to start a class project in which we connect with students in another school via Skype and email. Giving my students a little "pen pal" to collaborate with via technology3. Group projects

Teacher Examples:1. Meeting and working with other educators via zoom 2. Utilyzing online professional development opportunities 3. Using a google drive to share ideas, strategies, and resources as a building or team.4. Team planning: Each teacher is assigned on unit to plan and we share it on our google drive to get ideas and inspiration

How I use Collaboration

I am forced to think critically every day as an educator and it pushes me to be the best teacher and colleague I can be.

Critical thinking is another skill that lays a foundation for success across all areas of life. Students who are able to think critically are going to be much more successful in school, work, and their personal life. It is a huge responsibility to educators to teach students how to think critically. One of our main jobs as educators is to help set our students up for future success and I think this C plays a major role in doing just that.

Critical Thinking

students:1. engaging in online platforms and websites that promote critical thinking and problem solving2. using different forms of technology to develop problem solving strategies and tendencies3. Some websites I use are ABcya, starfall and brainpop to promote these habits in my students

Teacher: 1. Developing meaningful and engaging lessons using online platforms. These lessons also align with our curriculum, theme, and are developmentally appropriate2. Analyzing data using an online data workbook on our google drive3. using student data to create meaningful and attainable goals for each student

How I use critical thinking

The last C is Creativity. This is the most challenging for my personally in my journey as an educator, but it is also the one that is most enhanced through technology. I often find myself in a rut and feeling uninspried when it comes to lessons and activites. This is when I turn to technology to help add some fun, and pizazz to my lessons. Technology opens up every door imaginable and offers a plethora of ideas and resources. I have found so much inspiration through th euse of technology in my classroom.

Creativity

Students: 1. I let my students use technology to explore different forms of art and express themselves through what they create.2. Students get to experiment and explore different games and sites that promote creativity and creation.

Teacher: 1. I turn to technology when I am feeling uninspired in my lessons. I utilize my schools google drive for inspiration as well as different sites like Teachers Pay Teachers. 2. I utilize different websites for games that will be engaging and fun for my students such as ABCYa and Starfall3. I use creativity when creating things on Canva such as flyers, announcements, cards, and many more

How I use creativity