Karen Lirenman has been using tech in her class for a long time, and was so excited to see the ways in which it has progressed to where it is now! One of her biggest passions is the way that technology has evened the playing field to lower the access point for many learners for whom educational options may have been previously unavailable.

From translation apps, to text enlargers, simplifiers and readers to spelling checks and open access to information, tech has revolutionized the way we teach in every aspect. Perhaps one of the newest forms of tech accepted into the classroom, and soon to be one of the most impactful, are apps.

Open ended apps allow students to show their learning in ways unique to them, while being easy to use and operate they have a low skill floor so everyone can use them, but they have many features that let more advanced users really extend the showing of their knowledge in ways no one else can, so their personality shines through in a digital project.

One app in particular that Karen uses often is Book Creator, which allows the students to put together their own book, be it a photo essay or novel.

However, despite all the useful apps out there for learning in the classroom, Karen warned us of the traps that many people, not just educators, fall into when using the endless possibilities that apps represent. We have to ensure that the apps we bring into our classroom are used for creation, not consumption, every time the students go on their iPads it should be to showcase their creative side, not zombie out on Netflix or someone else’s game.

Students can use technology to find their voice, contribute to the global community, exercise their creative and critical thinking skills as well as learn from new sources. But if their brains are off as they watch yet another youtube video on Fortnight none of this will occur.

This is something that I have to be careful of even in my own personal life, and something we should definitely be aware of when picking apps to bring into the classroom.