Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1158290
teachers who are taking risks, we have seen amazin g and innovative results from them and their students." Bowling agrees, saying she's impressed with the number of teachers who have a handle on EdTech basics like Goo- gle Docs and Slides, and is eager to see what's in store now that they're looking to incorporate more hands-on learning with th eir students' de vices. An area of opportunity for many educators is allowing students to demonstrate their understanding and knowledge using a variety of EdTech tools. "Sticking with just Docs and Slides will limit a student's ability to create some- thing magical," Bowling says. "ere are many programs and sites that offer cre- ation and collaboration tools. It's really fascinating to see the creative capabilities our students have — all we need to do is allow them to create." Educators al so n eed to b e mindful of safety online and digital citizenship issues, especially with students' privacy and d ata . In th e desire to uti li ze th e most cutting-edge and engaging tech- nology, teachers and students often use " free" apps found online. Though they do not require paym ent to use th em , they may be collecting the valuable data of students and their usage habits. "I have seen many districts in Cali- fornia, mine included, who are slowly weeding out the online programs that of fer amazing ser vices that are ' free' because they sell student data in the background," Bowling says. "Cracking d o w n o n w h a t i n f o r m a t i o n i s b e i n g leaked out is on the radar of many in the EdTech world." Mattox say s it 's b e st to tr u st y our instincts when it comes to using technol- ogy in the classroom, noting that a tech company's goals are often orthogonal to the goals of education. "Having a skeptical and discriminat- ing approach is necessary to protect our students from tech companies that are concerned about their bottom lines and not our students' educational growth," Mattox says. " Tech is a powerful and uncontrollable force that is going to dra- matically transform education in the next few decades. It is not clear at this point whether these changes will better our students or hurt them. It is really up to teachers, administrators and stakehold- ers to determine the outcome." " Tech is a powerful and uncontrollable force that is going to dramatically transform education in the next few decades." — Jordan Mattox, Chowchilla Elementary Teachers Association Green Screen by Do Ink allows users to create green screen videos and images to tell a story or explain an idea in creative and unique ways. 24 cta.org