Students, Technology and Boundaries

   

People are often skeptical of technology use in the classroom, especially when their children/grandchildren/neighbor kids seem to use technology for music videos and computer games. Often people see the introduction of technology into the classroom as simply an excuse for kids to play games. I use very few games in my room, but I do try to make the technology use fun. I frequently use project-based learning in my language arts class, and did much the same thing when I taught science and social studies. For a successful project, students need the freedom to explore, ask questions, seek answers and create something of value. These opportunities to explore are also a vital part of developing digital literacy skills; students need to experiment with the best way to find information, organize ideas, evaluate conflicting ideas and create new ideas.

Take a look at Bloom’s Taxonomy and you will see that the lowest level learning, remember and understand, takes place on a path. The teacher decides that all students will go from point A to point B and when they get there everybody will know or understand what a verb is. Along the way the teacher will help some students who are struggling and answer some questions, but there is a very linear, static quality to the experience. Too often I see technology being used the same way, and sometimes I am the perpetrator. Telling students to use World Factbook to put together a paper on the country of their choice is pointless. Wolfram-Alpha or Siri can answer just about any question that will be answered by that paper. Learning to research a paper is a valuable skill, but telling them to use only one source would be the equivalent of putting Lewis and Clark on a leash and telling them to explore the frontier.

Right now my students are working on business plans and one of the project requirements is that they consider competition and demographic data in choosing a location. So, if they’re going to start a miniature golf course, they better spend some time thinking about who uses a mini-golf course and make sure they put it someplace where it will get business. I didn’t tell them to use this website or that website, and a lot of them did end up using the same website, but that is fine. They are learning to explore and complete tasks on their own. I believe this is the right thing to do because their future boss is not going to tell them to use Microsoft Word to type up a 200 word, 12-point, Arial font expense report and pull the average mileage costs from the AAA. No, their boss will tell them that they want a brief expense report and it will be up to them to figure out how to get that done. 

Preparing students for the Digital Age means tapping into human characteristics that can’t be mimicked by computer programming, among these is creative problem solving. I liken a good project to a playground, there are rules and established boundaries, but instead of the objective being “fun,” it is “business plan.” Unlike the hike, students are free to move about the area as they wish and each student has their own objectives. Along the way, they may decide to pair up with somebody or share a success with others, but their final product is the result of their creativity and effort. There is nothing wrong with the entire class using World Factbook, but I want them to find it on their own or through teamwork. My role in all of this is to make sure that students are not crossing the fence or trying to grab the spinning merry-go-round with their teeth. In short, I’m not leading a hike, just supervising the playground.

 

Of course, just like the playground, every now and then students will do something they shouldn’t. Usually it is something harmless, but completely unrelated to their task, like a video of a sleepy bear or a game. Still, it is off task and there aren’t enough hours in the school day or devices in the building for students to spend time doing something they shouldn’t be. I do give the students a chance to defend their actions, but since I have a clipboard with the students’ project topics, they are usually very honest and readily admit when they were knowingly off-task.

They know exactly what comes next and sometimes start even before I get over to them. They close down the device, put it away and grab the “no tech” alternative. If it is a research paper, that might be a book. If we are working on verbs, then it might be a worksheet. Whatever the activity or assignment might be, I always have a “no-tech” alternative, my students know this and some even choose it over the “tech” version. Remember that both activities need to achieve the same learning objective.

This works very well for me because my overall classroom management strategy has always relied upon having engaging activities that students want to do. Of course, when it comes to the activities that include technology I’m always a bit worried that students will view paper and pencils as a punishment, which is not good for anybody, especially that student.

For this reason I make it very clear that the assignment choice is theirs, unless they start making bad decisions. Then it is my responsibility to provide them with a good environment for learning, and that means removing the device.  My evidence that they understand this lies in the fact that some frequent off-task offenders will choose the low-tech option right away and have even thanked me for the option. It is rare, but it does happen. 

Technology is going to be a part of students' lives, and it is full of distractions and improvements for learning. Teachers have always been asked to reach higher while still keeping their students safe and ensuring that they are learning. This is how I do it, but I know there are other great ideas out there.

Please share your ideas, comments and questions because everybody will benefit!