The
Digital Classroom
What
can we do to bring new media into our learning environments?
A
|
s a
self-confessed geek and gadget lover I have to say that being alive in this age
of rapid digital expansion is fantastic.
If I could tell my sci-fi loving younger self that in the not too
distant future information will be beamed directly to you through the dust and
space in your living room and that we will all be carrying around pocket sized computers
and Star Trek style data pads I think I would have found it hard to contain a
Chewbacca-esque roar of excitement.
Throw in some jet packs and flying cars and my vision of the future
would be all set! Yet, whether you are a
digital native, technophobe, new media dinosaur or just ambivalent or oblivious
to it all, it has to be said that sometimes this revolution appears to have
fallen short of the classroom door.
As our
students divide their attention from texting on their smart phones to watching
their digital televisions whilst simultaneously listening to their iPods and
updating their Facebook and Twitter accounts on their laptops or tablets it is
easy to see how new media has had an impact on leisure and lifestyle. Conversely, if we shift our gaze to a modern
classroom then with the exception of the odd Interactive Whiteboard, which
let’s be honest are often used as glorified data projectors, then little has
changed. Hopefully they have become more
welcoming and warm learning environments over the last Century but fundamentally
they are not very removed from the Victorian classrooms of ages gone by. Sure we hear about those fortunate teachers
with regular access to computer suites, laptop banks or iPads but, if your
school is anything like mine, then this is far from the norm.
Unless
between the time of production and publication of this article we have reached
the technological singularity and exponential growth has rapidly transformed
everything, then our students are being taught by humans with intermittent
access to digital technology. We don’t
yet have the cables that plug into the back of our heads and allow us to upload
information and skills straight into our pupils. Neither do we have the budget to furnish them
with the latest in technology to encourage them to be independent learners who are
capable of evaluating the credibility of the information that they encounter. But just because digital media in education
sometimes feels like it’s shuffling along at dial-up speed whilst the outside
world races past with its fibre-optic connection, it doesn’t mean that we
should give up on it yet.
Technology
in education seems to divide people into distinct groups: those enthusiasts so
keen to jump on board that they mindlessly use it with little thought as to its
impact; those who judiciously employ it when it is relevant and benefits
learning; those who totally ignore it out of fear or ignorance and those who
are waiting for it to revolutionise everything before investing. I certainly see myself more in the former
half but fear that sometimes my zeal means that I sway for the first rather
than the second group. To those who are
in the latter groups though, I fervently agree with a statement made by David
Thornburg, an educational consultant in the field of emerging trends, who
succinctly states: “Any teacher that can be replaced by a computer, deserves to
be.” The best learning comes from good
teaching and a partnership between the pupils and practitioners. No new gadget or line of code will ever
replace the enthusiasm, experience and knowledge which good teachers possess. As such, I fear that those expecting a
revolution to change everything may be waiting for quite a while and that those
unwilling to try and use all of the resources at their disposal are
disadvantaging themselves and their pupils.
If we are going to keep what we teach relevant and equip our students
with the skills that they need for the future then we need to keep abreast of
what is happening in terms of digital media.
The wider
that the deficit grows between the ‘literacy events’ which our students encounter
at home on their computer screens and in school with paper and pens the more
outdated and irrelevant the curriculum appears.
My own MA research into this area highlights that learners are acutely
aware of this gap and that, as we would expect, they appreciate a variety of
digital and non-digital resources. This
needs more than just tokenism or hollow gestures towards multimodality and the
added challenge comes from how quickly this media moves. Take the modules on multimodal communication
which have surfaced in different specifications including on the AQA one. It will take the pupils ten minutes to tell
you that most of the examples of multimodal communication on the course are
already out of date. When most own
phones with full QWERTY keyboards and autocorrecting software it is of little
surprise that more of them type using, in the main, Standard English. So what can we do against this ever changing
landscape?
We do what
we have always done. We cherry pick the
best of the bunch and invest time in digital media which will have a real and
meaningful impact on teaching and learning.
Not only does this show students that we see the importance of online
resources but it also models best practice with how we approach their use
too. Like all classroom resources some
require us to invest our time in them to make them valuable and others will undoubtedly
become outdated but this is the game we are used to playing. In my experience one of the main barriers
which stands in the way of practitioners using more digital media is the sheer
quantity of online content paired with the fact that they require us to invest
either time or money. Understandably, if
we don’t know where to start then the door to using this type of resource feels
firmly shut.
Below are a
handful of online resources, largely free, which are worth a browse as a way
into using more digital media in our classrooms.
5 Online Resources worth a
browse…
Twiducate
Twiducate is
a free educational social network which allows students to log in to an online
space created by their teacher. From
here practitioners can share links to websites, upload resources, answer
questions posted by students and provide pre-teaching resources prior to
classroom lessons. The site is
constantly being developed and when you invest time it can be a fantastic
resource for schools and educators who do not have access to their own Virtual
Learning Environments such as Moodle or Blackboard.
Prezi
Prezi is a
free online (or cloud based) presentation program which provides teachers with
an interactive canvas on which to imbed images, YouTube clips, text and
links. The mixture between slide and
whiteboard tools make it versatile and the finished products are pleasing to watch
but being online you are reliant on internet access and must upload all of your
images and videos as opposed to copying and pasting making it more time
consuming that a PowerPoint to make. It
is an interesting change which goes down well with students though.
Animoto
Animoto is
an online video slideshow maker which allows users to upload photographs and
present them in a visually pleasing way alongside a chosen music track. The quality of the finished product blows its
competitors out of the water and will certainly grab a classes’ attention. There is a free version which allows you to
create 30 second videos but the Plus package is a reasonable £2.50 a month
which lets you make unlimited videos.
Provided that you remember to use the resource this is a worthwhile
investment.
Dipity
Dipity is a
free, online, interactive timeline creator which allows you to imbed photos,
videos, links to websites and information which can be viewed in different ways
including a flipbook or traditional timeline.
Not only is this great for allowing students to explore context but it
can be utilised by the pupils themselves to create their own timelines to show
understanding of an issue or text. The
timelines require you to invest some time, no pun intended, but they then
become a readily accessible resource which can be used again and again.
Futurelab
Futurelab is
an organisation which researches and produces resources linked to innovation
and creative approaches to learning.
Their website is worth visiting for different ideas and resources linked
to digital literacy. Powerleague (www.powerleagure.org.uk) and Exploratree (www.exploratree.org.uk) are two examples of this type
of free and innovative program. Both are
designed to encourage independent thinking outside of the classroom in
preparation for the learning which takes place within.
Exploratree
is a free online library of thinking guides and mind maps for students to
promote independent thinking. It also
provides pupils with a resource to design their own thinking guides which can
promote metacognition and help with revision.
Loads of really good ideas - love using technology in lessons!
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