It seems as though most school sites have gathered the funds to have technology available to each and every student at a moments notice. Whether it is signing up for "your day" or having a dedicated cart kicking around your classroom the access is there. With this type access comes great responsibility. A responsibility that has eluded my own practice for many years.
Last school year I decided to create a school dedicated Facebook page. I wasn't expecting much and figured that few students would actually want their math teacher as a "friend". I was very very wrong. This platform has allowed me to connect with students in various ways and also lets me into their lives outside the classroom or our school setting. I see the struggle some students go through, the defeat, the celebrations, the connections, their personalities and so on. I also see some very scary things that are generated by either the student or "friends" of the students. There have been several instances that I have had a discussion with a student about what they put or share on Facebook. This has led me to the conclusion that it is up to us as an educational institution to begin to push awareness of the digital footprint. While it is impossible to control what students do outside of school, showing examples and non examples of effective digital citizenship and allowing that space for students to interact with the digital world where feedback can be given is valuable. The way I see digital citizenship with an emphasis on digital communication being taught in my own classroom is: Norming. Norming expectations within the classroom on how we communicate digitally with each other gives us a chance as a group to personalize what we value and how we expect to interact with the digital communication world. While students interact within the digital world outside of school, being able to norm is the first step in creating a digital awareness, while pushing students to reflect on what they see as important. Modeling positive digital communication. Being able to give prompt and direct feedback while students collaborate digitally. I can see this as students are working through a shared Google Doc, posting comments on student inputs. This is a structure I have used in the past with good results and I would like to extend this format to other forms of communication (we are beginning to use Padlet for daily quick writes). Identifying when we (students and adults) step "over the line". I would make the assumption that most people are guilty of posting, commenting, sharing something that in hindsight was not appropriate/necessary. Being able to have those authentic conversations about situations that are real to the students and yourself are valuable lessons. In the classroom, I can see this taking the form of a prompt through Google Docs or Padlet, where students share experiences that had less than stellar results, how that situation made them feel and what they did to correct the situation.
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"Login to Khan and work through your recommendations, if you get stuck, watch a video". Well, not exactly. While I am not knocking Khan (I use this tool on a fairly consistent basis in my math classroom), there is more to personalized learning and integrating technology into the classroom than just this.
Educational technology is robust. The technology used in and out of the classroom has the power to help track student data, organize personalized student learning goals, give instant feedback, integrate screencasts and videos, allow students to utilize research sites, alternative methods for showing mastery and provide opportunities to connect with others, miles away. In my own experience, having various technological tools as well as pedagogical tools available allows me to not only to keep things fresh in the classroom, but utilize these tools in intentional ways that support the learner within specific learning goals. A success over the past several months has been the use of Google Classroom. I create mini "learner" videos demonstrating previous skills that are needed to support the current learning goal. I upload these videos to Youtube, post the link within Google Classroom and students can watch/practice if they need a refresher on said previously learned skills. Students get comfort from hearing a familiar voice and seeing a familiar face and they have the ability to watch, pause, rewind, process and demonstrate a a particular skill. If students feel they have mastered this particular concept, guess what, don't watch the video. This is a small step to creating independence within the classroom and a springboard for utilizing Google Classroom for other purposes such as editable classroom shared docs and connecting with class information outside of school. |
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