Use Powerful Tools Powerfully

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to work, via various social networking sites, with Kathy Cassidy, a teacher “of six year olds,” in Saskatchewan, Canada, according to her class blog. We’ve even met face to face at conferences. My class (4th – 6th graders) shared blog posts and comments with her students a few times, and we Skyped at least once. Kathy recently shared a post on the Powerful Learning Practice blog about “Five Ways To Use Skype.” Some of the aspects of the post I want to highlight are that yes, ‘even’ 6 year olds can connect online in ways that provide powerful learning opportunities for them, and Kathy makes the point that, “If we are going to use technology, we need to use it well.” Check out her post, she shares some great ideas on connecting your students.

Reading Kathy’s post had me re-visiting a point that has been made by others (and me) over the years, but a point that needs repeating … repeatedly, because it is such a vital point to make.

There are very powerful learning tools available on the “inter webs,” and many are free to use … video conferencing tools like Skype, Google Hangouts … blogs, wikis, online photo and video archive sites (like Flickr), and many more. As Kathy and others point out there are powerful ways to use these tools that connect students, experts, facilitate collaboration globally, provide the ability to design, produce, edit and share content in any subject, and so much more (and yes, occasionally just to do something fun or cool!).

There are many of us that have been working very hard to spread the word about how these tools facilitate new, innovative and engaging approaches to learning. How they require teaching our students to be active learners instead of teaching them to be taught … sit quietly but attentively, raise your hand if you have a question, then wait for me (as the teacher) to decide this is an OK or appropriate time in my lesson to break from my cadence, my lesson, and answer your question or listen to your comment … now … or not.

So what’s my point already? It’s the point Kathy made: “If we are going to use technology, we need to use it well.

Ever since personal computers and other technologies were introduced, their praises as learning tools have been sung from the highest rafters. Unfortunately, much more often than not, when technology has been purchased with improving education, improving student learning, improving student achievement or (yuck) improving student test scores as the goal … the technology or tool has been the focus with too little thought or professional development or teacher autonomy considered to actually use the technology in ways that empower students and/or their learning. The results therefore have been ugly and have lead to a backlash about the actual value of technology and connectedness as pathways to learning.

In addition, the tunnel-vision of test scores in language arts and math have turned too many computer labs and other technologies into drill and practice, test prep and “what apps can we get that will engage the students” dead ends. That use of technology as learning tool is like buying a Ferrari just to listen to the great stereo while its parked in the garage.

There is nothing wrong, especially as a way to gain experience with the technology, to do a video-conference or two that is mostly about saying hi to a class in another state or country and share some basic information. But if that’s all you do … then that’s probably not “using it well.” Collaboration, sharing and analyzing data, simultaneously performing an experiment or activity to see if location changes the results, read alouds between students, an international poetry festival between classes … that’s more like it. Students tend to be more engaged, spend more time editing, ask more clarifying questions … because these students from somewhere else, and maybe others, are going to see it … I want it to be good.

Blogging is awesome! Blogging is writing for sure. But its also posting photos, videos, podcasts, vid-casts … and because blogging is a two way street (because others can leave comments) its a conversation. Students can post any kind of writing you do in class, and yes, I’ve even had them post a written response about their reading. But also creative writing, science experiments, reports on any subject, short stories, long stories, explanations, diagrams and representations of math problems and concepts (that other students from around the world can see, discuss and argue about). But also photo essays, video clips of anything, pieces they write just because they want to (my new puppy, my birthday party, what happened when we got a flat tire, I was so scared when …) … and again, these pieces are published to the world … and the world responds, and that leads to more writing and thinking deeply about the response, and sharing ideas and realizing what is different about living in different parts of our city, state, country, world.

I could go on explaining the power of wikis, photo and video sharing sites and more. But that will just belabor things.

Too often we utilize technology and the web because they seem to be automatically engaging for students .. at least for awhile. If we aren’t learning as educators how and why to use these powerful learning tools and opportunities to enable our students to do important, meaningful work. If we allow ourselves to feel unprepared or stupid or phobic about using technology and perceive that our students know more about it, or worse, see it as a way to keep students busy in the computer lab while we grade papers or do other “teacher stuff.” (yeah I know that you probably don’t get enough prep time). Then we are leaving its promise and capacity as a learning facilitator, connector and collaboration tool on the cutting room floor. We might as well not bother with it.

So as Kathy said, “If we are going to use technology, we need to use it well.

Learning is messy!

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5 thoughts on “Use Powerful Tools Powerfully

  1. I have had experiences in six different school districts over the last few years, and I have rarely experienced technology being used well. In a past school district I worked at, I found it difficult to schedule time in a computer lab or with a laptop cart because they were used mostly for test prep computer programs. They had the technology available in that district, but they were not utilizing it to create more meaningful learning opportunities. Other districts poured money into smart boards that the teachers use solely as a chalk board ignoring its ability to connect to the internet. Some teachers assigned students to create PowerPoint after PowerPoint thinking that they were on top of the technology game.

    Despite the overwhelming lack of engaging technology use, I have come across a few successful classrooms. One class had its own laptop cart, and the students used their laptops for every aspect of class. Students used Google features to have their notebook online. They completed class assignments in Google Docs with multiple users working together on an assignment or having discussions. Other assignments involved students creating movies and other media together. Students were also given the skills they needed to research, and they completed web quests. This was a History classroom and students connected with relevant historically significant items. It was great to see students using technology as a means of communicating, exploring, and creating. Students were extremely engaged and active in that classroom.

    One of my favorite activities to do is have students explore connects between certain equations (like quadratic or absolute value) and their graphs. With my guided activity and GeoGebra graphing features, students notice how changes to an equation affect a graph. Students can draw the conclusions on their own. With this more engaging learning opportunity using technology, I find students remember what they learned easier. We as teachers need to find more engaging ways to take advantage of the technology that we have available to us!

  2. I am currently taking my last course to clear my preliminary multiple subjects credentials and it is called Computers for Educators. This week we are learning the value of blogs in a classroom setting. I came across your blog and finally got the relevance and value this medium can have. Thank you for putting forth convincing arguments backed by your experiences. I will definitely recommend this site to others in the class. Thank you, Heather Langhoff

  3. I’m not exactly sure how to use technology in a meaningful powerful way. I know that any age group can use technology , but how would you use it powerfully in first grade.

    • Hi Errin – In first grade students can blog, here is an example of Kathy Cassidy’s 1st grade class blog. Her students share their writing, math problems, artwork and more. Click on the student names on the right of her blog to see what they are doing on their blogs. 1st graders can also video conference with other classrooms, experts and guides at zoos, museums and other places. Teachers can take digital photos of student artwork, projects, and other work and post them to places like Flickr to provide basically an online museum of their classroom that parents and others can view. So you’ve created a great family to school connection. In addition the students can use the photos and write creative stories, poems, captions that explain them and so much more. That should give you an idea of the kinds of ways 1st graders can use technology as a powerful learning tool. Hope that helps.
      Brian

  4. I could not agree more with this. Technology has become so comprehensive and ubiquitous, it’s easy to feel required to use it in the classroom but hard to know if you’re using it well. It would be great if all teachers were given time to understand their new technology so they may use it comprehensively (unlike situations like the one Sarah points out with the underutilization of white boards). Or, in an ideal world, all technology for the classroom would be comprehensive and intuitive, but in the meantime, an awareness of what it means to “use technology well” is essential.