After reading these articles, I feel even more excited about
using technology in my SSC 101- First Year Experience class that I teach in the
fall semester. Since I’m an Academic Advisor, I get the opportunity to teach
this class every year. I’ve used quite a
bit of technology before and have found that it helps students learn in deeper
and more personal ways. This has been an adjustment for me since I tend to be a
little old school with teaching students.
The articles reminded me that learning should match how students think
and work today and not what works best for me. First-year college students are
already using a great deal of technology in their everyday lives, so bringing
that into the classroom helps them stay engaged better and see how what their
learning matters. As Kuhn (2008) noted, “One cannot help but meet a variety of
learning styles, with experiential depth, if technology is purposefully and
wisely integrated into the regular day-to-day curriculum” (p. 20).
I liked the way the articles talked about Bloom’s Taxonomy
and Multiple Intelligences. They helped me remember that students don’t all
learn the same way and that is okay. Some learn by writing, others by watching
videos or working in groups. I am a hands-on learner while I have a daughter
that is an auditory learner and needs to hear what she learns with the help of
music. In SSC 101, I can use tools like
Canva for projects, discussion boards for reflections, or short video check-ins
to reach different learning styles. Kuhn (2008) pointed out that technology can
help even beginning teachers “provide more depth and learning-style
differentiation if they effectively use educational technology to teach” (p.
21). This helps students not only remember the information but also understand
how to use it in real life.
It also made me think about my daughter, who teaches Family
and Consumer Science to 7th and 8th graders. She uses technology in creative
ways, like having students make digital posters about baby-sitting, record
cooking tutorials for TikTok, and use Google Slides to explain sewing projects.
Her students using the embroidery machine or sublimation machine is also
learning and using technology. Her
students love it because they get to be hands-on and use tools that feel
natural to them and also learn new tools that prepare them for careers. This
reminds me of Hobbs (2011), who wrote that “easy access to so many information
and entertainment choices now requires that people acquire new knowledge and
skills to make wise and responsible decisions” (p. 14). Her classroom shows
that even young students can become strong with technology when guided well.
I feel encouraged to use technology more on purpose in SSC
101 starting Fall 2025 not just because it’s so popular now, but because it
helps students connect, grow, and take charge of their learning. I want them to
feel confident in school, understand how to use resources, excite them and
create a hunger to learn more, and to see how their learning connects to the
real world. These articles gave me ideas and reminded me that combining strong
teaching with the right technology can make a big difference in how students
are engaging with their learning.
References
Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering learners and media literacy. Knowledge
Quest, 39(5), 14–17.
Kuhn, M. S. (2008). Connecting depth and balance in class. Learning
& Leading with Technology, 36(1), 18–21.
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