Educational Technology Essential for Innovation

Introduction

In life, people are what they repeatedly do; consistency is essential to growth and success. As with any pedagogical practice, a consistent pattern must be established so that it becomes embedded in daily norms. Lifelong learning is the development of “effective learning habits that are crucial for success within and beyond the taught curriculum” (Cotton, 2018, p.5). Technology should not be thought of as separate from the pedagogy or curriculum; instead, as a tool or vehicle to enhance delivery, which often does so more efficiently and effectively. With the integration of technology in education, the more connected experiences we plan, offer, and execute means more equity and opportunity for talented students to develop their practice as digital citizens.

Educational technology needs alignment with and integration into schools’ strategies, digital and otherwise. Crucially, “it is how practitioners use this technology and how they integrate it within their pedagogies and curriculum delivery, which will contribute towards learning outcomes and student well-being” (Vicentini, Day, Gill, et al., 2022, p. 62). The pivotal practice that will shape the future of edtech is the strength of that underlying strategy. Organizations of varied types and audiences might call this a framework, standard, or plan. The creation and implementation of something bespoke – relevant to the context of the educators and learners – is often the missing link and is an actionable and attainable reality. The TPACK framework is an excellent resource to begin the development of strategies and transforming practice (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). At an organizational level, Dr. Ruben Puentedura’s SAMR model is key for evaluating an entity’s status and formulating a digital strategy (Terada, 2020).

Within a school’s approach, the digital or edtech component should be highlighted as a piece necessary for transformational practice, not an entire solution. ICT can help “create effective and independent environments ideal for individualized education and intervention” (Kontostavlou & Drigas 2019) – contexts where gifted students can thrive. While technological accessibility features can make content easier to access and comprehend, they can also “make learning more immersive” and propel achievement of learners who might struggle with traditional classroom limitations (Spillett, 2020). Differentiation has been a buzzword for too many years; the implementation of this complex concept eludes many educators but the solution can be found by using the appropriate technological tools to assess, collate and report student progress.

Proper differentiation and individualized instruction provide access to learners so that they can learn how they learn best, metacognitively, and practically (Kaplan, 2014). While digital literacy “looks beyond functional IT skills to describe a richer set of digital behaviors, practices, and identities,” this definition also changes over time with the constant adaptations of technology (Davies & Roberts, 2014). “Because of their capacity for depth and complexity, ability to transfer learning from one situation to another, fast processing, and inductive learning, gifted students are particularly adept at becoming technologically literate and putting technology to use to solve problems in novel ways” (Siegle, 2005).