Small Steps to Embed
As a Technology Facilitator I have the privilege to work with teachers, helping them develop and consider ways to embed technology into their lessons. The teachers I work with range from those who already embed technology and are looking for new ideas to those who struggle to use technology. The most important aspect of embedding technology, to me, is to try and ensure that it is effective for both the staff and the students.I would like to share two moments from the last week:Blogging - we use both blogger and wordpress at the school and blogging, for most teachers, is a relatively new teaching method. Most teachers are aware of blogs and have probably read a blog, however they could not see a reason for students to blog. They needed it to be an authentic reason, not a blog because they have been asked to blog, but a blog that serves a purpose and “adds” to the lesson.A Humanities teacher has developed a blog with his Grade 9 pupils, where they have posted their findings to a topic. He was unsure what to expect but reasoned that experimenting would do no harm, as at worst they would create an essay on another platform. However what he found was very different:
- Students took more time to create an interesting piece, using multimedia to enhance their ideas.
- Students who normally struggled with the essay style projects create more detailed work.
- Students reacted positively to the instance feedback given from the teacher and the other students.
- Peer assessment against the rubric was instant and valuable as the students could react to this and make changes.
As we discussed this he posed a really interesting question: Why do pupils react to teacher comments on blogs when they ignore the exact same comments on paper based essays? Why? Is it due to their ability to comment back? Is it the speed of the comments? Is it the global nature of the technology? I would like to unravel this phenomenon to understand their thought process. However, I think I am getting a little ahead of myself and at the moment I am just celebrating the use of blogs in a variety of lessons in a variety of different ways.ExplainEverything - such an exciting app. It is simple to use and provides instant results. The students in an Economics class created topic notes using this app. They planed their ideas and researched their topics before using drawings and voice recordings to create mini-guides. These were then all uploaded onto the teachers YouTube Channel. The pupils have the power - they are the creators and they know that they must rely on each other to ensure that the notes are thorough.Even more excitingly I was the substitute teacher for this lesson. I watched them plan and discuss what needed to be added and what needed to be culled. I watched them decided who would need to say what. I watched them experiment with the App, or tinkering as discussed in the MacArthur Foundation report, by pressing all the buttons to find out the best ways to create the most effective finished product.Once they had finished they shared the end video to the teacher through Google Drive (so he could upload them to YouTube). When I spoke to him about the end results he shared his excitement at seeing the work appear in his drive whilst he was at a conference; enabling him to share good pupil practice instantly.I could not argue that technology is fully embedded at my school but when teachers are willing to try something new, without being wholly sure of the outcome then there is a buzz around campus! Now I need to step up and use it more within my Technology classes.The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Nov 2009) Living and Learning with New Media:Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Retrieved from https://app.box.com/s/2bnrqoclpn9mjrghyioj