EdTech4Everyone

About me

First things first, an introduction. I am a Post primary (secondary) school teacher with over 25 years experience teaching in Northern Ireland. Now I might be the wrong side of 50, but that definitely doesn’t prevent me from having more than an interested peek at some of the exciting ed tech tools out there. Moreover, there’s potential to enhance teaching and learning and make life a little bit easier for us all.

Secondly, I should make it clear at this point, that I am not an expert on all things IT, I am a teacher of History in a Post Primary school setting and I also a member of my school Senior Management Team. However, both posts do give me ample opportunity to try out new software and hardware. For instance, using Sways for better quality presentations or a Surface Pro for inking.

Finally and most importantly, I hope to share with you all my experiences of using various Ed Tech products and in doing so provide feedback and guidance using as little technobabble as possible.

EdTech tools

You will likely already be aware of and have access to most of the tools that I am using – many are from the Office 365 stable, as our school is signed up to this product.

• Teams: This is a platform that allows me to create and manage online classes, assignments, quizzes, chats, meetings, and more. Teams also integrates many apps and tools such as OneNote, Forms, and Office 365 on to the platform.
• Microsoft Forms: Create and share; surveys, quizzes, polls, and forms. Use it to collect feedback, assess learning, and generate reports.
• Surface Pro: Well known to C2K users in N. Ireland. This is a device that combines the features of a laptop and a tablet. Use it to write, draw, type, record, present, and more. It is very versatile and portable.
• OneNote: This is a tool that allows me to create and organize digital notebooks. I can use it to take notes, annotate documents, insert multimedia, and collaborate with others. Therefore it is an extremely useful piece of software for teaching and admin.
• Social media: Connect and communicate with other educators, students, parents, and communities. For instance Sway can be really useful tool to help share resources, ideas, experiences, and opinions.

In my future blog posts I will delve into more detail about the edtech tools that I have found to have really made a difference in day to day teaching and management tasks. Added to that I’ll include tips and instructions that will help you get started. hope you will stay tuned and join me in this journey of teaching with technology. Thank you for reading!