Top 10 Things I Think Teachers should know or understand about Technology

Before the pandemic, I knew many teachers who reluctantly used technology with their students or in their classrooms.  However, in the past year, we have all been thrown headfirst into the world of technology tools and usage. I believe that, in the end, it will have been a good thing that we all were forced into this for our students, for us, and for teaching in general.  

Below are the Top 10 Things I Think Teachers should know or understand about Technology (in no particular order)


  1. Play around with tools well in advance of when you need to use them.  Not only should you have some experience using tools or presenting technology in order to teach it but you should also have some idea about how fun or inspiring the tools are.  If you think they are boring and uninspiring so will your students.


  1. Don’t be afraid to ask your students for help.  There will be times when students know more about how to use certain tools or navigate technology than you.  It is ok! Students should know that even as adults we are learning.


  1. You are not alone! Reach out to your district tech team, co-teachers, or your LIBRARIAN for help if you need to.


  1. Always have a backup plan.  Technology doesn’t always work and there may be unforeseen glitches with tools or tech you want to use that day.  Be sure that you have at least one if not more back up plans to use just in case.


  1. Students need to use it to learn from it - Don’t teach a lesson that makes them sit and watch you present technology.  If they can’t touch the tech and play around with it then and there the lesson would be for naught.


  1. Connect the tech to the classroom and real life.  Students should understand the reasoning behind why they are learning about a certain tool or procedure.  If they don’t see a practical usage for it your lesson could go in one ear and out the other.


  1. Be sure to understand all of the different ways you can use technology.  Whether its to encourage collaboration, promote distance learning, or reduce paper clutter make sure you know why you want to incorporate technology into your learning objectives. It is up to you to apply it to your learning objectives.


  1. Technology is ever-changing. Always be on the lookout for seminars, webinars, or PD in order to stay abreast of new tools, tricks, and technology that could help you better than what you are using today.


  1. Did you know that you can file bug reports for software?  If you find something isn’t working then reach out to the creators of the tool.  If they don’t know its broken they won’t know that it needs to be fixed.


  1. Just as we tell our students learning a new skill takes time, patience, and practice.  Don’t expect to be a master right away and don’t be afraid to try new things.


Good Luck and remember that we are all in this together!

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