Solving Problems with Innovation and Flexibility
June 28, 2023
Technology in the Classroom: Blended Learning
June 28, 2023
Rabbi Aaron Kutnowski and Dr. Leanne Morris
Modern North American society is highly educated with more than half of Canadians going on to higher education. Recently, though, there has been significant stagnation in tense topics being discussed openly and constructively. At times, communities will be in a gridlock around certain ideas and do not seem to be able to get past it to a consensus or resolution. For some topics, it can be even more complex. Technology has become such a topic especially for how it should be utilized in schools. Teaching pedagogy has mostly embraced the use of technology with minimal limitations, especially when it has been proven through data that a particular curriculum will speed up the process of learning and achieve learning outcomes.
Some do ask the question: At what expense? Parents can feel left at the sidelines. It can be difficult to balance desires of parents for greater exposure, as well as balance required legislated curricular outcomes in a timely fashion. This is especially difficult when also navigating a dual curriculum. One of the first stages in beginning to implement a technology policy is truly understanding the constituents of the group i.e., school. This can be accomplished mainly through open and meaningful conversations.
“One of the first pieces of advice Rabbi Dovid Engel ever gave me as a new school administrator was to hold on to the rebbi/teacher perspective,” stated Rabbi Aaron Kutnowski, Head of Judaic Studies at Halpern Akiva Academy, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
“You need to remember what it was like and empathize when you requested certain support from your administrator and weren’t able to receive it,” shared Rabbi Engel.
Teacher Perspectives
Recently, at Halpern Akiva Academy, teachers were asked to express some important uses they have found for technology in the classroom. The administrative team, Mrs. Cameron, Principal, and Rabbi Kutnowski, Head of Judaic Studies, are hoping this will lead to the school developing an appropriate technology philosophy. Teachers shared the following benefits of technology:
It can provide a broader range of books for children to read than keeping a large physical library, while being less expensive for the school. Many online resources provide a built-in assessment management system. Instead of requiring students to re-write their essays by hand, they can easily be corrected on the computer.
Additionally, “the use of technology can save a tremendous amount of teacher preparation,” expressed a seasoned teacher at Halpern Akiva Academy. “We can help students advance or catch up at their own rate in a specific area of study with technology, in a way that we just can’t without it,” she attested.
Teachers were then asked to share some concerns they have with the use of technology. One teacher expressed that plagiarism is a growing concern. How to properly cite needs to be taught well and in earlier grades. Another concern was that students have significant difficulty judging the quality and authenticity of the information on the internet. This can pose an issue for adults as well.
“Digital citizenship is part of our wellness curriculum and students explore this topic with their gym teacher. Students are encouraged to continue utilizing critical thinking skills when navigating the internet or while on devices at home,” shared Mrs. Cameron.
Some of the learning outcomes of the digital citizenship unit are understanding appropriate, responsible behavior with regards to technology use, promoting and practicing safe, legal, and responsible use of technology and information, and exhibiting appropriate behavior in the use of technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
A Parent Perspective
Dr. Leanne Morris recently returned to her hometown of Calgary, Alberta, with her family and has enrolled her three sons at Halpern Akiva Academy. “At first we had many concerns, as any family would have when switching schools, but Rabbi Kutnowski was willing to talk openly and listen to our perspective, especially around technology and device use in the classroom.”
“My experience working in pediatrics is that when it comes to technology, more is not necessarily better. Emerging data suggests increasing exposure to technology can displace opportunities for socialization and often interferes with, rather than enhances, learning,” commented Dr. Morris. “My fear is all of this exposure to technology without education around its pitfalls makes kids vulnerable to tech addiction, mindless consumption, and may result in children and adolescents that are less likely to successfully navigate the digital world around them. Unfortunately, I see children with these struggles regularly, and am so grateful that HAA has been so thoughtful about appropriate exposure to technology.” shared Dr. Morris. “Despite constant pressure to adopt the newest technologies, schools should be increasingly thoughtful about what, if anything, each technology adds to learning and development, and perhaps, more importantly, what it displaces, before allowing it into our children’s classrooms,” concluded Dr. Morris.
“When I originally spoke with Mr. and Dr. Morris, I immediately noticed their earnestness and passion for education,” recalled Rabbi Kutnowski. “As we have gotten to know each other even more, we continue to find more and more common ground.” Rabbi Kutnowski continued, “Even from that initial conversation, we broached touchy subjects, but with an openness to properly explore it. In an out-of-town community with a much broader spectrum of the Jewish community as constituents of the school, it can be a real juggling act making sure everyone feels heard and facilitated. Halpern Akiva Academy does not want to be in the dark ages, but we do embrace technology with caution.”
Dr. Morris clarified her suggestion. “If I could distill down the one thing I think is paramount in ensuring the success of our children in our hyperconnected digital world, it would be establishing a digital plan, ideally one we create together as a community. This requires starting with the goals and values we have for our children’s development and education and working backwards to critically appraise every new technology for evidence of clear, significant benefit with minimal harm before allowing it into the classroom. With this philosophy, agreed upon as a community, we may find there are a very small number of technologies that actually make the cut.”
The Conversation
As a result of these conversations, the Calgary Jewish Federation, in conjunction with several other Jewish organizations in Calgary, including Halpern Akiva Academy, will be hosting an event at JCC for parents entitled, “Screen Savvy Parenting: Navigating Healthy Screen Habits for Our Children” given by Dr. Morris. “I had been talking to Dr. Morris at length about having a discussion around technology with our parent body so that we will best be able to construct and implement a technology policy. Other local institutions were eager to jump onboard and we were happy to work with them,” Rabbi Kutnowski reflected.
“It can be a hard conversation to have,” confessed Rabbi Kutnowski. “Many parents communicate that they expect their children to navigate technology and master it, even at a young age. Our school has embraced a data-driven decision-making process, but when it comes to technology, research is still limited. That being said, facts are beginning to emerge.”
“It can be tempting to buy into the fear that children will miss out on the ability to use technology if they aren’t exposed to it. However, research is emerging that suggests the opposite is the case and that high exposure at a young age is associated with decreased academic achievement and emotional regulation,” stated Dr. Morris.
In a smaller Jewish community like Calgary, one of the deliverables students receive is a greater amount of teacher attention. With smaller class sizes and student to teacher ratios, there can more easily be differentiation and individual attention. This does not only hold true for the students, but for parents as well. Parents can have an increased role in the school. Even volunteering can make a major impact. “It is not always easy for parents to get as involved as they’d like. Life can be so busy,” mused Mrs. Cameron, principal of Halpern Akiva Academy. “At the same time, if a parent is passionate about something and approaches administration, we want to facilitate their involvement.”
Schools cannot implement every parent suggestion, but it is feasible for many parent perspectives to be heard by the administration of smaller schools. At the same time, the teaching staff are regularly receiving professional development and is educated in pedagogy coupled with hands-on experience from the classroom. They are entrusted to be the experts of how to run their classrooms.
“It’s important to nurture a culture of having staff be active listeners to parents and parent input, and this is not specific to discussions around technology,” commented Rabbi Kutnowski.
“Changing a school’s culture, even slightly, can take a long time, especially around something that can be as contentious as technology. Our school leadership is taking slow measured steps,” shared Ms. Kelsey Lovell, Director of Inclusion and Diversity at HAA.
“As a community school, we want to appeal to as wide a range of Jewish families as we can. In recent years, distance from technology has been superficially tied to a certain level of Jewish religiosity. Technology does not need to be framed that way. It is in our school’s best interest to not let that perspective take hold, especially if our school will be embracing a technology policy,” expressed Rabbi Kutnowski.
Rabbi Kutnowski has begun talks with Rabbi Baruch Noy, CoJDS’ Educational Technology Consultant, about how to best approach HAA’s technology policy. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this process, but without a doubt, opening the conversation has helped everyone understand the value of developing such a policy and created a stronger school community.
Rabbi Aaron Kutnowski is the Head of Judaic Studies at Halpern Akiva Academy of Calgary. He holds an honors degree in English Literature from York University of Toronto, various certificates from Geneva Centre for Autism, and a certificate of completion from the Consortium of Jewish Day School’s (CoJDS) Lilmod U’Lilamed program. Rabbi Kutnowski is passionate about facilitating a genuine relationship with Hashem, Torah and Mitzvot, and with the Jewish people. Contact Rabbi Kutnowski at rabbikutnowski@akiva.ca.
Dr. Leanne Morris, M.D., pediatrician, practiced in Toronto for over a decade before recently returning home to Calgary with her family. She currently works at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in addition to her community pediatric practice. As a mother of four, she finds herself giving parenting advice a lot less and laughing along with parents a whole lot more.