The report emphasizes:
- Reinforce learning concepts introduced in school, but at a preferred pace for the individual student
- Present academic content in a learning modality best suited for the student’s learning style
- Provide an avenue for the student to explore academic topics and ideas to a deeper level than in the classroom
- Challenge the student with new ideas and the development of different perspectives on acquired knowledge
- Develop college and career ready skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity
- Provide a digitally relevant way for today’s student to explore careers in a low risk, highly engaging and personalized environment
The emphasis seems to be “this is what kids want, so we should find ways give it to them.” I agree that meeting them where they are as digital natives, rather than where we want them to be or where we are, is more engaging for them. I think we should be careful though, and make sure that technology is actually improving their learning, rather than only making them seem more engaged, but without educational benefits that make it worth utilizing. Having said that, obviously I need to get on the bus or get left behind in irrelevantland.
So: it matters a lot how the teacher presents these opportunities. I continue to struggle with keeping students on task rather than using their devices for distraction. But one point I really identify with is that this allows for self-paced learning (I am thinking of the flipped classroom). A student who learns quickly can watch a video once, but a student who needs to watch it multiple times can do so until they feel they understand the material. That is HUGE. Traditionally, I would lecture, and then answer 30 requests to explain it again, either because they weren’t paying attention anymore after 10 minutes, or they didn’t understand it when they were paying attention. This eliminates the problem of the kids who just won’t raise their hand to ask for help, as well as putting the onus of attention on them with a video that can be replayed if they get distracted. It frees me up to actually help, instead of being a broken record.
I also really appreciate this:
“Additionally, these students are also more likely to self-direct their learning outside of school by tapping into mobile apps, finding online videos to help with homework, emailing their teacher with questions, and even posting online content they create…”
I think it’s really important to model these lifelong learner skills, and get them excited about the variety of tech resources out there, so that they will pursue them on their own. I have students who see school (and learning) as an adversary, and rebel by refusing to participate unless absolutely necessary, and sometimes not even then. I will work to encourage my students to pursue this mindset by modeling and introducing them to exciting and engaging tech resources.
I have students who are kind of a mess, organizationally. There are apps that help with keeping track of due dates, etc which could really be beneficial for them. I am eager to show them how much they can help with these skills many students lack.
Even though I struggle with implementation, I don’t think that is a good enough reason to not allow tech in the classroom (although it IS tempting), and I hope to create a parent/student info page with my philosophy and expectations about appropriate use.
One thing that might be a problem is I mostly let them use tech to look up information while completing an assignment. I think I need something more purposeful. This site talks about ways to keep students focused when using technology
http://www.edudemic.com/7-ways-to-keep-students-focused-while-using-technology/
and suggest that asking for more participation could be a way to keep them focused. I haven’t tried the survey-response apps but I’d like to. It also talks about keeping them more directly engaged, for example if I give them a “webquest” that directs them to specific learning sites. I have done this with better success, but again there are always those students who don’t or can’t self-regulate and get distracted because they are basically provided with a tool that enables their distraction. It seems that nothing solves that problem. Then you end up with the ADD kids getting their devices taken away, and in my classes these kids are becoming the majority. Anyway, the idea that students are not distracted just because you banned tech in your classroom is false: this is from
Haha. True! So I will (begrudgingly) get off my soapbox about the distraction. Those kids will be distracted no matter what, and hopefully by using tech I can engage them a bit more.
This site:
http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/distraction-students-ipad-024/?
talks about keeping your students so busy they don’t have time to get distracted. It starts out with this :
To give a student an iPad is to place him in front of a bay window open to an endless sea of distraction.
Right??
So the key is to “think about what you’re doing every ten minutes.”
“The lecture may begin with a poll. Next, they could be told to consult their peer’s blog posts written from the previous class. Halfway through the course, they must take a quiz. After that, they all watch a video. A review and class discussion of some relevant tweets follow. Suddenly, class is done for the day.”
That sounds nice 🙂
ed554adrienne 