Teacher Tech is not just about teachers using technology. It is about using technology to design better learning, not faster assignments. True teacher tech is grounded in pedagogy. It puts students at the center and focuses on helping them become creative problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. The goal is not to automate worksheets or speed up grading.
The goal is to support meaningful work that students care about and remember. In this post, I’ll share what research and experience tell us about what makes great teaching. I’ll highlight how the Depth of Knowledge framework helps us focus on thinking, not just tasks. If we want to transform learning, we need to make instructional choices that develop students into great thinkers and great humans. Teacher tech should help us do that.
Great Teaching Is About Great Design
Good teaching starts with purpose. Before reaching for a digital tool, we need to ask, “What is the learning goal?” Technology should not drive the instruction. Pedagogy should.
In my book 50 Ways to Engage Students with Google Apps, co-authored with Heather Lyon, we emphasize that tools do not create engagement. Teachers do. Engagement happens when students are thinking, solving problems, and making decisions. It happens when they are active, not passive. Technology should be used to amplify those moments of thinking, not replace them.
To design great lessons with tech, start by thinking about what students will do, not what the teacher will do. Will students ask questions? Collaborate with peers? Explain their reasoning? Create something meaningful? If the answer is yes, then we’re on the right path.
Design for Thinking and Create Time for What Matters
Technology can and should help teachers save time. It is not the reason to use tech, but it is a benefit. Tools like Quizizz make it easy to check for understanding and give instant feedback, which helps teachers respond to student needs more quickly. When technology helps us reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, it gives us more time to do what really matters, connecting with students and designing instruction that supports learning.
But we can’t stop at saving time. We have to ask how we use that time. The best use of tech is to shift our classrooms from recall to reasoning, from repetition to reflection. This is where the Depth of Knowledge framework becomes essential.
DOK Level 1 asks students to recall. Level 2 focuses on applying skills. At Level 3, students explain reasoning and justify their thinking. Level 4 pushes students to connect concepts and engage in complex reasoning. Tech should help us build lessons that aim for Level 3 and 4. That’s where students do the most learning.
Use the Four C’s to Guide Tech Integration
When deciding whether a digital tool adds value to a lesson, I ask myself, “Does this help students collaborate, communicate ideas, think critically, or create?” These are the Four C’s. They are foundational to modern learning, and they help keep our tech use aligned with what students actually need to be successful in college, careers, and life.
Here are some examples:
Use Google Slides for collaborative storytelling or class-wide analysis. Give each student a slide and have them contribute ideas, questions, or evidence from a text.
In Padlet, have students brainstorm ideas or respond to a class prompt. Let them upvote, comment, and build on each other’s thinking.
Use Book Creator for publishing. Let students reflect on a project, explain a math concept, or create a digital portfolio.
FigJam works beautifully for organizing ideas. Students can diagram arguments, plan projects, or map out how concepts connect.
These are not just tasks. These are thinking moves. They give students the space to interact with ideas and with each other.
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Grading is not the same as feedback. Students grow from feedback that is timely, specific, and helps them understand what they can do next. The problem is that with large class sizes and full schedules, providing that kind of feedback is hard. This is where tech can help; not by reducing learning to multiple-choice scores, but by supporting better conversations around learning.
In Ditch That Homework, Matt Miller and I talked about the importance of feedback loops. Learning improves when students get feedback, reflect, and revise. Instead of using tech to finalize grades faster, we can use it to make learning more visible. Google Docs and Slides let students and teachers leave comments, ask questions, and make suggestions in real time. Padlet can be used for peer feedback and idea sharing. Voice comments using tools like Mote or even screen recordings can add a personal, human element that builds relationships while helping students grow.
We need to make sure feedback isn’t just coming from the teacher. Students should self-assess and reflect on their progress. Self assess on rubrics, reflection prompts in Google Forms, or checkpoints in digital journals are powerful ways to help students take ownership of their learning.
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Use AI with Caution, Purpose, and Pedagogy
Artificial intelligence is now part of the education conversation, and it is not going away. But just because it is available does not mean it should replace good teaching. AI should never be used to remove the thinking from learning. It can be used to support brainstorming, help students organize ideas, or suggest revisions, but it cannot and should not replace student thinking.
AI tools like ChatGPT are trained on large amounts of internet content, which includes bias, misinformation, and irrelevant or outdated information. That means it is up to us, as teachers, to guide students in using AI responsibly. We must teach them to verify information, question sources, and make decisions based on evidence.
In Promises and Perils of AI in Education, by Ken Shelton and Dee Lanier, the authors stress the importance of ethics, bias awareness, and digital literacy when using AI in the classroom. I agree. AI should be used with intention. Students need to understand how it works, what its limitations are, and how to use it to enhance, not replace, their thinking.
Use AI in your classroom to:
Generate discussion prompts and have students critique or revise them.
Help students brainstorm multiple perspectives before forming an opinion.
Provide different ways to explain a concept, and then have students determine which is best and why.
AI can be helpful, but we must keep pedagogy at the center of its use.
Avoid the Gimmicks and Focus on What Matters
Not everything new and shiny is better. Some tech tools promise engagement but end up being distractions. In 50 Ways to Engage Students with Google Apps, we talk about the importance of student-centered design. If a tool takes more time to manage than the learning it provides, it is not worth using.
I don’t use tech because it’s fun. I use tech because it helps my students learn better. That is the filter I apply. If a tool doesn’t help students collaborate, create, communicate, or think critically, I move on.
Avoid using tech to control students. Tools that track every move a student makes are not about learning. They are about compliance. And compliance is not engagement. Students learn best when they are trusted, included, and allowed to make choices.
Make Learning Authentic
The best learning happens when students know their work matters. When they create something for someone else to see, when they solve a real problem, or when they share their thinking with a larger audience, they take more pride in their work and think more deeply about it.
Teacher tech can support this kind of learning in so many ways:
Publish books in Book Creator to be shared with younger students or the community.
Host digital exhibitions using Google Sites or Slides where students explain their learning journey.
Record podcast-style reflections using audio tools and post them on class blogs or Padlet boards.
Invite families to virtual showcases or panel presentations using video tools.
When students create for authentic audiences, they are motivated by purpose, not points.
Use Technology to Foster Student Ownership and Agency
Students are not just consumers of content. They are thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers. When we give students voice and choice in their learning, we empower them to take ownership of what they do. Technology can help create space for that agency if we use it with intention.
Student ownership happens when students make decisions about how they learn, how they demonstrate learning, and how they reflect on progress. This does not mean giving students free rein without structure. It means giving them options that are aligned with the learning goals.
In 50 Things to Go Further with Google Classroom, co-authored with Libbi Miller, we talk about creating a student-driven classroom. Use technology to let students choose how they respond to prompts. Give them options for media, format, and audience. One student might create a video reflection. Another might write a blog post. A third might design an infographic. The learning outcome is the same, but the path is personalized.
Student choice increases engagement, but more importantly, it helps students learn how to make decisions, manage their time, and reflect on what works best for them. These are life skills. Teacher tech, when used well, supports this kind of growth.
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Apply the 5 E’s to Structure Your Digital Learning
The 5 E’s model is a powerful way to frame instructional planning, and it fits beautifully with technology integration. Each phase supports deep learning and invites different kinds of student thinking.
Engage
Use technology to spark curiosity. Share a short video, a provocative image, or a puzzle that gets students thinking. Tools like Padlet or FigJam can collect initial questions or observations.Explore
Give students time to investigate. They can collaborate in Google Docs, dive into interactive simulations, or gather evidence from multiple sources. Let students share their findings using Google Slides or create collaborative notes.Explain
Ask students to explain what they have discovered. Instead of a lecture, have students record a Google Vids video, collaborate on a concept in FigJam, or respond to prompts in Book Creator. This phase helps them organize their thinking.Elaborate
Extend the learning by asking students to apply it to a new context. Use Google Sheets to model data analysis or design a real-world problem in a collaborative doc. Push thinking further with open-ended challenges.Evaluate
Make time for reflection. Use Google Forms for self-assessment or have students create short Vids videos to explain what they learned and what they still wonder. Feedback here should be formative and continuous.
The 5 E’s help structure learning around exploration and depth, not just completion. Technology can support each phase when it is used to invite student thinking, voice, and ownership.
Teacher Tech Is a Pedagogical Choice
Teacher Tech should not be about apps or shortcuts. It should be about students. Every tech decision we make should start with one question: how does this help students learn better? If the tool helps students think more deeply, reflect more honestly, collaborate more meaningfully, or express themselves more fully, then it is worth using.
In my books and in my classroom, I come back to this idea often. Technology is not about control. It is about connection. It is not about speed. It is about growth. It is not about managing students. It is about empowering them.
Let us use teacher tech to lift the ceiling, open the door, and invite students into the kind of learning that sticks with them long after the grade is entered.
