I was always looking for new technology to use in the classroom. However, I also knew when it was time to skip something that looked cool yet time-consuming in favor of a method I knew worked. Sometimes this even led to re-enrolling in old-school for the semester.
Google Forms vs Google Docs
Every Google guru we had at school was pushing Google Forms like it was heroin. I tried it and I tried it, and after several huge wastes of my time, I realized how much better Google Docs were for the same assignments. I'm not sure if G Suite folks are as excited about Google Forms as they used to be, but it's an example of not believing the hype. Google Forms is not as good as Docs for assignments, not as good as other online quiz programs for quizzes, and not even as good as other free survey tools. But it is built-in, so I tried to use it for quizzes. Again, I mostly went back to a quiz website I'd been using for nearly a decade.
Smart Board vs White Board
A few years back, if I would have said I preferred a good whiteboard or chalkboard to a Smartboard, fellow teachers would have looked at me funny. But that's exactly what I said. And now, it seems others are starting to agree. Without a lot of effort from teachers or from the company that introduces what is supposed to be time-saving and innovative technology, it goes nowhere. And that's where Smartboards were for several years in my school district. Like giant laser disc players.
If you find a better use for an old-school technology than for a new one, use it. The point isn't to force you to use new stuff. The point is to decide what works and what can be ignored. A perfect combination of old-school and new-school is the Cranium Chromebook Cover. It's for brand-new Chromebooks, but it's also a Whiteboard. It protects using old-school strength.
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