These EdTech Tools Have the Power to Help Build School Culture

Finding the right edtech tool that fits the needs of your students and classroom can be hard. Especially during remote learning, integrating new technology can be lengthy and challenging to master. Integrating technology into classrooms means that a culture shift is on the horizon for a school or distinct. A school’s culture sets the tone for the overall atmosphere and success of teachers, students, and faculty. Building a strong school culture means finding a balance between being effective, successful, and experimental while also balancing the learning and emotional aspects of a student’s life. We recently spoke with Todd Nesloney to compile a list of edtech tools that every integrated classroom needs to help build school culture.

EdTech Tools that Help Build School Culture

Social Media

One way to effectively communicate with students and parents is to communicate through a medium they use every day and are familiar with. Social media is a great way to provide information, announcements, and support for teachers and students because they provide a singular place to find all information needed for that class. A powerful tool that lets educators tell their stories. Schools and classrooms can utilize social media by making pages for their students, parents, and community to see what they are doing during the school year. An example of how to build school culture with social media is ‘hiring’ students to run their social channels. Todd gathered some 5th graders to run all their social media and share out to the community the success stories and projects that teachers and students were working on. Google was a huge asset for Todd and his school to teach students how to use social media in safe and appropriate easy as well as teaching students how to complete the basic skills needed to post on social media.

Maker Technology

Maker technology is an up-and-coming addition to classrooms that provided spaces for students to innovate and experiment with STEM, robotics, etc. This creates excitement around learning for students where they associate fun with learning. Giving students a space to be creative and innovative allows them to tap into their creative side and build strong potential in a variety of fields. Opportunities for students to excel in specific subjects or fields foster a positive and safe school culture and environment. 

Podcasting and Video 

As technology in classrooms increases, take time to invest in learning how to use technology to up your game in the edtech world. Making instructional videos or podcasts for students can help create a technology-integrated and focused school culture. As teachers are learning about new technology, students are too. Get students excited about the technology being integrated into classrooms by using technology in a way that is familiar to students. YouTube has blown up with the younger generations in recent years, so use education videos from YouTube during lessons; or better yet, create your own instructional videos to post to YouTube. 

Edtech tools have a great impact on creating a strong school culture. As classrooms stay integrated as students and teachers transition back into the classroom, edtech has shifted the feel of what a traditional classroom once looked like. Create a positive and strong school culture with edtech tools that resonate with your community. 

Listen to the full conversation with Todd Nesloney on our Tackling Tech Podcast!

On this episode of Tackling Tech, Tierra Leustig interviews Todd Nesloney about leadership and his newest book, When Kids Lead. Todd Nesloney is the Director of Culture and Strategic Leadership for the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA) and is a former Teacher and Principal. Todd believes everyone has leadership qualities, regardless of age, gender, background, or being an extravert or introvert.