The Right Way to Use Tech Tools: 4 Rules to Plan By

Just this week as I was working alongside strong, student-centered teachers I heard the following comments related to structuring/planning a math block.

  • “I hate that we no longer have access to IXL this year! This was a great time filler during my math block.”  
  • “The Zearn trainer said we should spend 90 minutes a week, per student, on the program.”
  • “But I am required to spend 60 minutes each week on IReady pathways for my student’s data.”

These comments made my stomach drop! There is a feeling amongst educators that tech tools which allow students to follow a pathway to ‘successful practice’ are a key part of the instructional block. This is just not true. 

4 Rules to Use When Planning an Instructional Block

Rule #1: When students are together they need to be talking to each other and engaging in hands-on activities.

We always want to maximize the instructional time we have with students to achieve the maximum learning outcomes. The research (see research basis) tells us there are key activities we want students to engage with during instructional time.

  • Discourse and collaboration with other students. Students need to hear from their peers, they need to hear other ideas and strategies for solving problems. It is very challenging to arrange student discourse when students are working individually in their learning pathways on their devices.
  • Concrete models and hands-on activities are a crucial part of building a conceptual understanding of mathematics.  The visual models on the screen can be beneficial but the students can’t touch and feel them. There is a significant difference between concrete and visual models as they are processed in the brain.
  • Students work in vertical spaces where they are working in collaborative groups on thinking tasks. Although not all tech tools are based on practicing procedures, there are very few that focus on thinking tasks.

Rule #2  A maximum of 30 minutes a week broken into 10-minute increments is optimal for any tech tool.

If a student spends 90 minutes (or even 60 minutes) a week using a tech tool, that is 90 minutes of missed instruction from their teacher, their peers, or individual discovery. I understand there are some very interactive, entertaining tech applications available to students that they may enjoy. However, I would argue they would also enjoy playing a fluency game with a few friends where they roll some dice, stack some counters, win a game, and build their math identity. When you are planning the use of technology tools, schedule 3, 10-minute opportunities for students each week to engage in their learning pathway while scheduling the rest of your instructional time during the week as hands-on opportunities where students collaborate with their peers.

Rule #3 Technology learning pathways are ONLY one form of learning data that tells us one aspect of student learning.

One of the pushbacks I hear from educators about data is that they need the learning pathways or assessments to provide student data that informs instruction. There are opportunities for data collection every minute in a 60-minute math block. For example, if I am working a station rotation in my classroom and I spend 10 minutes with each small group teaching a differentiated lesson, I see and hear exactly how a student is interacting with the math.  I see what they write and how they process the learning. I hear what they say to other students in the group and what they share in the small group. That is DATA! I always carry a clipboard and data collection sheet around the classroom with me so I can jot down whatever I see students doing during the block.  For example, I might jot the following notes:

  • Kiran: draws area models readily
  • Clara: struggles with partial products – do more modeling
  • Jack: mastery achieved
  • Chloe: needs hands-on to multiply

These notes then drive my differentiated small-group instruction or intervention groups for the next day or the next week. I don’t always need technology to tell me that Jack is ‘scoring at a 5th-grade level on measurement’. How does that help me know how to help him move forward with multiplication?

Rule #4 Technology should never replace teacher or student interaction. However, if that isn’t an option then use it.

There are times when teacher and/or student interaction isn’t possible. This is a good time to support the use of tech tools in your classroom. You might give the option of tech tools during your morning arrival time, inside recess, transition times, or in a station rotation (10 minutes, 3 times a week). However, tech tools should not replace or minimize instructional minutes that could be spent with teacher and student interactions.

Consider how we are using technology in our classrooms. Is the use of technology replacing important interactions, collaborations, or conversations? Is the use of technology providing us with the ‘right’ data to make informed decisions about Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruction? I would ask that you consider how you use tech tools moving into this school year.

Research Basis

Liljedahl, P. (2016). Building thinking classrooms: Conditions for problem-solving. In Posing and solving mathematical problems. Springer, Cham.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2015). Principles to actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. 

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