Digital "Shiny" Objects

Digital "Shiny" object: enticing digital gadgets and apps.

There are always lots of  new educational technologies bombarding the inboxes of  teachers this time of year.  If you're like me, I tend to want to try everyone that comes through my blog feed or inbox.  However, over the years, I've learned to be more "judious" (Thank you, Matt Miller) about the educational value of every new gadget, app, or tech idea that comes to transform my classroom.

Take for instance, the new Pokemon Go app that is spreading rampantly across the globe.  I'm sure there are already teachers sharing ideas about how they are incorporating this app in their classroom curriculum. I always wonder if their inclusion of this new app really modified learning or did they create an activity just to use the app?  Nothing improves learning like good lesson design.

Whenever I come across a digitally "shiny" object, my approach is to ask myself this question:
How will ______ help develop good instruction?  In the book, The HyperDoc Handbook; Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps, Highfill, Hilton, and Landis (2016) share a lesson design that works well for any type of online or digital learning classroom.  The Basic HyperDoc Lesson template is easy to understand and implement at any age level. If the digital "shiny" object doesn't fit into any of these lesson plan categories, I don't find it useful.

There are lots of well developed, useful digital tools available.  Find a couple that work for you and use them diligently.  




Highfill, Lisa, Kelly Hilton, and Sarah Landis. The Hyperdoc Handbook: Digital Lesson Design Using Google Apps. Irvine: EdTechTeam Press, 2016. Print.