As educators, we are all working with children who have been born into the age of technology. They feel most comfortable when they are interacting with any type of device. As a result of this, it is crucial for us to make sure we are fostering social interactions and collaboration between students and their peers at an early age. We need to be empowering our students to, “become the teacher,” by encouraging partner work and shared learning in areas of technology, because students who teach remember what they’ve learned. In addition, helping students learn how to collaborate at a young age will give them the skills they need to successfully work with others in the future. Having the opportunity to work alongside students in other classrooms/grades can promote empathy and acceptance of others with differing abilities. In this session, you will learn ways to have students teaching other students through the use of technology, while developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills, vital to social emotional learning.
