Milobo’s Musings

So here it is, 3 weeks after Halloween and a bowl of leftover candy still sits on my counter. I’ve picked through the remains now and then and what’s left behind is the stuff that makes “junk food” sound like a compliment. Stuff that’s full of sugar and artificial flavors and tooth-rotting, chewy goodness.  Stuff that would make a dentist’s early retirement dreams a reality.

Stuff that makes Halloween a fun change from the regular routine but wouldn’t do much to provide for a healthy, balanced diet.

Good thing it only happens once a year.

Looking at that bowl of candy, I think about what sometimes happens when teachers think about adding technology to their regular classroom routine.   “It’ll help make learning fun,” they think as they usher students into a computer lab with little thought to the outcomes and goals they’d normally employ to design a learning activity.  Sometimes, there’s a new web tool or site they’ve seen that looks like it might hold a student’s interest. Even more often, it’s the end of a unit and there’s a day or two to be filled, so using technology to create a brochure or slide show seems like the ticket.

Like the empty calories contained in my leftover candy, this type of use doesn’t give much thought to the nutritional balance students need to grow into strong and healthy learners.  Playing games or throwing images into a slideshow doesn’t necessarily translate into learning.  Sure, it’s fun, but unless it is backed by an understanding of the intended outcomes, it won’t hold you or your students over for long.  And that’s part of the challenge I meet every day in my job. Helping teachers move past the quick fixes it seems technology can provide to thinking about what they really want their students to understand.  Making a little sugary tech-goodness into a four course meal where dessert is part of the package, but isn’t the main focus.

So, what’s the secret to a perfectly seasoned technology lesson?  When I co-plan with teachers, I ask them to use these three basics:

1. Begin with the end in mind. It’s rare when a good lesson begins with the technology.  If you identify the tool before you are clear on your outcome, you’ll end up with a lot of fun, but not much learning.  I often ask teachers to share with me what they hope students will learn or be able to do as a result of their activity.  I listen for specific words that cue into their goals (see Bloomin’ Web Tools for an explanation) and then pick a tool that matches that goal.  Having teachers document their outcome makes for a much better match between activity and tech tool.
   
2. Make sure the curriculum drives the process. Once you’ve matched outcome and tool, the real work begins.  Next, comes defining the process students will use and the benchmarks that keep students on track.  I’ve seen the best ideas come to a dismal end when teachers don’t clearly define their vision to their students.  Share with students what your goals are and let them know what you see as an acceptable end product by using a rubric or defining a S.M.A.R.T goal.  Most importantly, make sure your standards focus more on the curriculum than on the esthetics.  While good design is important, unless you’re teaching a design class it’s more important that students show clear understanding of the content.
3. Reflection is essential. What a shame it is when students spend a significant amount of classroom time creating a product, only to have it turned in, graded, and returned without any peer feedback or culminating reflection.  Any time you use technology, you should plan in time for students to reflect on their learning.  Give them a chance to publish or post their products.  Ask them to rate and comment on the work of their peers. Let them share what they learned.  Without this final step, they’ll leave the table without feeling fully satisfied.

In short, make sure your technology integration efforts turn into more than an empty snack.  A love of learning blended in with a dose of curiosity is what we’re trying to awaken in students.  Not mindless entertainment, but mindful purpose. And if it happens to be a little fun at the same time, then that’s really sweet.