I don’t consider myself a “tech savvy” person. In fact, I have avoided as much technology as possible by using it as little as possible but I know that I have to learn more about 21st century teaching and learning in order to keep up with the interests of my students and the rest of the world who have adopted this new forum of learning and teaching. I get overwhelmed by the availability of resources online through social media and online platforms. I started thinking about my experience with technology and when it served to inspire and motivate my students to dig deeper. It all started during our daily nature walks. Yes, outside. Who would have thought.
Going for nature walks outside with my class gave me time with students to explore freely while answering and directing their inquiries. Often questions would arise from observing their surroundings. We took pictures to record their inquiry and to help us look further. I used an application called “Google Lens” (https://lens.google/).
The application allows you to take a picture of something and search for information based on what is in the picture (please refer to Fig. 1). This led to all sorts of inquiry and knowledge. Students were always engaged when they would discover something and want to find out more.
This type of inquiry addresses the Core Competencies of Thinking, Communication and Personal/Social (https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies).
Moreover, students are able to learn more about the physical world around them.
I believe that the self-directed inquiry process and open-endedness is a pedagogy that allows students to find their own interests by coming up with their own questions and answers.
There are a variety of digital technologies that can enrich, enable, and enhance learning. For example, Google Lens leads to finding more information from sources like: Wikipedia, Britannia and other specialized websites on any given topic.
Keywords that I want to explore further are: Inquiry, Critical Reading, and Digital literacy.
Using this application has shown me how engaging technological tools can be in the hands of students. I want to learn more on how to amplify this learning so that my students can learn transferable skills and become lifelong learners.
