Being a middle school educator located in Howard County Maryland, United States, is great for culture, proximity to both farms and city, and historical sites such as the Benjamin Banneker historical park, and Harriet Tubman’s cultural center.
As an educator for the past 17 years in middle school science, technology has changed significantly. Years ago, students would watch video and presentation as a whole group. Now, however, students are able to use devices such as chromebooks one to one, learn and answer questions independently. Teachers can spend much of their time, facilitating learning and have more one on one time with students while students advance through lesson materials.
One of my favorite learning platforms is phet which is a library of science simulations. Students may explore simulations independently, but still fare better when the teacher models steps to obtain results from a fair experiment.
Discovery Education is another learning platform which provides teacher and their students with resources, such as videos, articles, and exploration or simulations. Again, modeling is important for students to get the most out of the activities. The school district purchases DE for the school district, so that students have full access in the classroom and even at home, if they so choose.
Over the years, I have found that students have better experiences in the classroom when they work independently or in small group, and ask for assistance as needed, as opposed to learning from lecture format. Learning occurs more effectively when the teacher provides short whole group instruction, and the educator models. Then, the students practice learning on their own and ask for assistance as needed. In addition the teacher interacts with students by providing feedback, and formative assessment questions during the student work periods.
There is a whole group assessment platform that involves gamification, Blooket is a very engaging and engages students in learning competition, which has proved very motivating for my students. Students compete against each other in an online environment with colorful games scenarios, and exciting music, while answering questions for points. The games are time-limited, and students are ranked for 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place. There are a variety of game styles, suck as fishing, and treasure hunt. See a short video about Blooket here.
Students today enjoy learning, if the learning is engaging and they receive more immediate feedback. Technology helps teachers motivate students with colorful learning platforms, the ability to provide quick feedback, and allows educators to interact more one-on-one during lesson delivery.
D.J. Branch
March 23, 2025
Leave a Reply