New opportunities for joyful, rigorous student learning.
Instructional technology allows teaching and learning experiences that were not possible without technology.
Purpose of Instructional Technology
Students and teachers use instructional technology to extend what is possible for teaching and learning. Digital tools and platforms are used to create opportunities for students to engage with interactive, dynamic content in ways that are not possible without the use of technology. Technology is used to easily personalize learning for different learning needs by providing flexibility in pace, engagement, and student expression.
Vision for Instructional Technology
As a result of instructional technology, the teacher has new efficiencies or opportunities to facilitate all students accessing, engaging with, and succeeding at deep learning. Students become independent learners who direct their own learning to acquire deep content knowledge as they express critical inquiry, agency, communication, and collaboration.
Why care about instructional technology?
Technology has come to play a key role in classrooms - whether as a result of teacher innovation, school-wide adoption of platforms, or fulfilling the needs of pandemic learning - and it is here stay. Therefore, it should be used for empowering purposes.
Instructional technology should allow all students to attain higher-order thinking, deep inquiry, and rich problem-solving. It should support students to create, innovate, and express their identities. Specifically, it should exist for personalized learning and interactive content.
To read more about the aspirational role of instructional technology at KIPP and the research that is driving our framing, see the concept paper at right or at this link.
How do we thoughtfully adopt instructional technology?
To enable sustaining, impactful use, instructional technology platforms and tools must be implemented thoughtfully and in consideration of many factors, teams, and systems.
To do this, we’ve created a set of guidelines based on the 10 context variables from the EdTech Evidence Exchange’s Genome Project. For more on their work, visit here. See their July 2021 report here, which includes a detailed overview of the context variables.
We’ve prioritized 5 crucial guidelines involving the coordination between academics, data, coaching, and tech systems to ensure a baseline for high-quality implementation of instructional technology. As schools and regions have capacity, we’ve outlined an additional 5 guidelines that support lasting, sustainable use of effective instructional technology. See below or click here.
To support adoption of instructional technology with these guidelines, we’ve adapted a rubric for regions and schools to use in assessing the quality of implementation. The rubric and the set of guidelines form the basis and framework of how we approach instructional technology.
The rubric, below and linked here, can be used to create a plan that accounts for all factors. It can also be used to progress monitor, assess the current state, and create goals for improved use of instructional technology. It works not to provide opportunities for growth in student performance on content and enriching the student learning experience.
What are some ways to use instructional technology at KIPP?
Digital Science Simulations
Science teachers are making robust use of the digital simulations and modeling tools within the Amplify Science curriculum and PhET tools. We’ve curated training/PD materials, guidance, and bright spots from teachers’ classrooms.
Math Platforms
Responsive instruction and personalizing learning for students is key, especially as students have a variety of needs and levels as they develop conceptual development, procedural fluency, and application. Schools and regions using platforms such as Zearn, ST Math, IXL, Dreambox, and i-Ready to accelerate learning of math concepts and development of the math practices.
Literacy Platforms
Responsive instruction and personalizing learning for students is key, especially for developing foundational reading skills (including phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). Schools and regions using platforms such as Lexia, Amplify Reading, and i-Ready to meet students where they are at and accelerate growth for developing literacy skills.
Modern Classrooms Program
Many KIPP teachers across in the network in a variety of K-12 classrooms and content areas have used technology to better meet the needs of all students through the Modern Classrooms Program. They have enacted self-paced learning, mastery-based grading, and blended learning so all students can learn key content.
Zearn Math
Several regions have adopted Zearn Math as their key platform for responsive instruction in math. We’ve created a bank of resources, including trainings, implementation resources, and examples of use.
Engagement and Access Tools
Learn about the various ways to use instructional technology to enrich lessons and engage all students in powerful ways. See ideas of how teachers are using tools like Nearpod, Desmos, EdPuzzle, Padlet, Flipgrid, InsertLearning, and Read&Write to allow students to succeed at deep learning through following the UDL principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, and action & expression.