A Context for Technology Use in the Classroom

When we use technology in the classroom, the most basic question is what technology do we use. However, there are also the questions of how and why to be answered. Sure, in a basic computer skills class, the answer to those questions might be centered upon learning how to use a program--such as Word or PowerPoint or Excel. Yet, once students have a familiarity with a tool, we should start to focus on how they can use that tool to convey what they know, and how they can use that information to create an end product.

In his article Technology-Transformed Learning Environments, David Warlick lists and describes 5 characteristics that a technology-infused learning experience should have.

1. The learning should be "fueled by questions." Whether these are questions based on student interest, questions encountered while researching, or questions presented by problems that students encounter, they wind up more successful at the task as they work to find the answers and creative solutions to these questions and problems.

2. "Students are engaged in a way that provokes conversation." Whether this conversation is with classmates, teachers, experts, or the data itself, students are working with the material as a two-way street, and learning and growing from the process.

3. "The learning situation is responsive to the learner’s actions." Whether students are getting feedback from classmates or teachers, or responses such as blog comments, they are hearing back about the final product that they have created, and getting genuine responses about its impact.

4. "The learning experience compels a personal investment by the learner and contributes to the learner’s identity." I think that all students are more engaged and successful with tasks when they feel a connection to the material, and see how it is affecting themselves and others. Technology and web 2.0 offer a much wider area for them to cast their nets and see the effects.

5. "The learning results from significant opportunities to safely make mistakes." It is an ever-present concept that we learn from our mistakes, and this goes back to something I said in my previous blog post. Students will never learn as much as they are capable of if we go about blocking anything and everything that *might* abuse or have issues with on the internet. What we need to do is supervise them, and help them learn to use some of these tools effectively, and Warlick is saying the same. Making mistakes and having the help available to navigate through them will be extremely beneficial when mistakes are made later on, and no one is there to hold their hand.

As I think about the web 2.0 tools we have talked about this semester, blogs and VoiceThread are the two tools that spring into my head at the moment as being usable in my class in the near future, and that address many of these ideas of Warlick's.

Blogs and VoiceThread would be a great way to address questions. A teacher could pose a question as a starting point for commentary on either of these tools, and through collaboration or individual responses, students would raise further questions that they could then research, or try and answer for their classmates. Responses would both answer portions of the discussion/research, and lead to more questions to continue with. Similarly, as these questions are created within answers, students are holding a conversation, and giving feedback to their classmates at the same time. They are carrying on conversations, validating and encouraging others' opinions, helping others to develop/change their arguments, being able to show why their position is important while at the same time hearing the positions of others, and having the opportunity for processing time before giving an answer. I think doing this activity first within a single-class group would help students feel better about mistakes, as their main audience is a set of people that they are already familiar with. In addition, the online format gives them a chance to think about and formulate their answer before typing in a text comment, or deciding they are ready to turn the microphone on and record.

While I think that connecting with other classrooms and communities is an ideal direction in which to head, when we are introducing our students to some of these tools, working with the limited group of their classmates at first may be the best way to go. We all started riding a bike with training wheels on, and this is part of what Warlick is getting at with his fifth point. Mistakes can be good, but perhaps we should show our students that on the smaller scale, before immediately jumping to the BIG picture and letting them sink or swim as they learn the piece of technology, the class information, AND the life skills all at the same time.