TOP TEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR USING TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
10. Facilitates the growth of 21st century skills demanded by industry and the global market.
9. Creates an active, inquiry based learning model that does not allow for passivity on part of the learner.
8. Allows for smoother implementation of differentiated instruction.
7. Encourages a collaborative approach to learning in and outside of the classroom.
6. Permits students to express themselves creatively through the use of various technologies.
5. Enables the collection of experimental data through the use of probe ware.
6. Promotes increased communication between parents, students and stakeholders.
4. Accessibility of a seemingly unlimited amount of resources for research and learning.
3. Motivates students making learning more relevant to them.
2. Visualization of abstract scientific concepts that students find difficult to comprehend.
1. Engagement!
I like the specificity of your 'Guiding Principles', Kristian. #6 is a very interesting idea. I have seen students showing their presentations in 'iMovie' format and it just takes the class participation to an entirely new level. If allowed in schools, classroom discussions on Twitter could be of great help in terms of differentiation.
ReplyDeleteHi Vee
ReplyDeleteWhen I assign projects that require a presentation I purposefully leave them creative room for how they will present and am continually amazed at the creativity this generation has. Last semester I had my students complete a "cell analogy" and I had students create webpages, movies and photo presentations all very interesting and 'cool.'
How would you use Twitter to facilitate discussion? Would there be an expectation to post outside of the class? If not, why not have discussions face-to-face?
Kristian
This might sound revolutionary, but it makes sense if we could allow students to tweet their ideas about a given concept/topic in class. We could then project all their tweets on a screen/SMART Board. Even students who are not so active in class discussions get excited to opine using Twitter. You get to see a wide range of ideas in a short span of time on the screen, and that would even allow us to differentiate better. I am not sure how many schools would allow Twitter in classrooms though.
ReplyDelete"Encourages a collaborative approach to learning in and outside of the classroom."
ReplyDeleteI refer to the outside the classroom as using technology to thin the walls... A great first step is just to find a way to engage students in online discussions as homework.
Vee -- That idea of "backchanneling" is great. Although Twitter is great for something like that, you can also use different types of chat rooms that might be more likely to be unblocked in a school.