E15 - Elevating Learning through EdTech, AI, and the 4Cs with Tasha Burton

On this episode of Blending In, I chatted with middle school Social Studies teacher Tasha Burton from Diamond Valley Middle School.  In our conversation today, Tasha shared how she developed her passion for “blending in” technology and AI platforms into her classroom in order to cultivate the 4Cs - creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking - to engage and empower her students.

At the start of our conversation, Tasha shared how an administrator at one of her previous schools was the catalyst that propelled her from using solely traditional, analog instructional practices to begin using technology in her classroom with students. She shared how, through her PLC at that school site, her team began utilizing new technologies (ie. Promethean Boards), to elevate their lessons and engage students with the 4Cs - creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

Our conversation led to a discussion about how the pandemic essentially forced all of us to embrace new technologies and platforms so that we could meet the needs of our students through online and hybrid learning landscapes which we had never encountered before.  We spoke about learning how to use Google Meet and platforms like Kami which are now part of “normal” tech tools that are used in classrooms across our district and beyond.  We also talked about how the pandemic shed light on the achievement gap and equity issues that are prevalent in public education and how since being back to in person instruction, Tasha is able to utilize technology in new ways to help make learning more equitable for her students and try to close learning gaps that are present. Tasha shared how accessibility tools build within in various technologies have been helpful to her in providing scaffolds for struggling students to help support learning needs and bridge learning gaps.  Although it was a very hard time for teachers, we both agreed that some really cool things came out of it, and for many teachers who remained in the classroom post-pandemic, it fostered a new sense of creativity in lesson design and delivery.  Tasha has discovered lots of virtual tours, interactive games, virtual field trips, etc. to help her students virtually explore the world and learn Social Studies content.

We also discussed how Tasha has been using Screencastify (her favorite tech tool) to record videos for her students to essentially duplicate herself and flip her classroom.  Students are able to catch up when they're absent, learn the content at their own pace, reference the videos if needed, and more.  She mentioned how she combines video instruction with digital/analog notes or a self-paced PearDeck so she can track and assess student learning as they progress through content at their own pace.  Tasha also spoke at length about how watching herself on video has increased her self-awareness of her teaching “performance” and how she’s able to be reflective of her own practice and make changes that make her a better teacher for her students. A “light bulb moment” for her during the pandemic was when she realized that she could use Screencastify to record and send updates to parents on their student’s performance rather than sending lengthy emails which can be easily misinterpreted!  Feedback from parents who are on the receiving end of her Screencastify communiques has been very positive!