Every once and a while some asks me: “Why did you decide to launch The Tech Edvocate?” In response, I decided to write an article explaining just that. In short, I wanted to expand educators knowledge and awareness of how technology is sweeping the educational landscape and how it has the potential to impact student performance positively.

Also, I aspired to help them develop and refine their skills as educators through the realization and reconceptualization of technology use. The diehard readers of my site are striving to achieve a balance of technology within the classroom by understanding the most effective and well-developed approaches and methodologies to employ when using technology in the classroom.

Let me go into further detail. Technology is an ever-present force in the world today. Many of us, including educators, have come to the realization that the use of technology is not merely a fad that is going to fade away with time. 

However, many educators and educational institutions are still fighting against the use of technology in the classroom because of the multiple “unknown” factors which include not knowing how edtech will shape this generation of students, fear of using technology or equipment that can seem overwhelming, etc.

In the age of digital dominance teachers, administrators and students are struggling to find a balance that allows for a wide range of learners to receive a positive and rewarding experience within the classroom.

Educators frequently ask me questions such as; What are the most effective methods that can be applied to assessment and development? How do we gauge the long-term effectiveness of engaging students in a learning process that detracts them from the “human” experience with their peers and teachers? Are we developing a culture of learning where students will be dependent on technology to think for them? The articles that we publish are a response to that.

My site is a longitudinal research study of sorts. It examines if edtech is positively impacting teaching and learning in our schools or are we developing a generation of learners who will expect a piece of technology to do the work for them.                

As technology expands so does the possibility to learn. Administrators, teachers, and students are becoming virtually aware of the effect that technology is having in the workplace. Parents, friends and the wider community is also growing concerned with the exposure that technology causes to a vulnerable group of people. 

Technology is meant to connect the world but is it removing students from their personal connections within the learning process. The Tech Edvocate’s ongoing mission is to explain how technology, when used in the right conditions, can help a generation of learners to grow, develop and relate to the world around them positively and collaboratively. That’s why we exist.