Leading with Learning

For my second module, I researched how to select resources in order to use technology as a tool to lead with learning. I found a lot of really good resources to help teachers so I wanted to share them. I found a great essay called “The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration” by Thomas Philip and Antero Garcia. This article had some helpful reminders: “the context, not the tool, is what is important when making decisions about utilizing new technology within learning environments” (2013, p. 309). We seem to make the assumption that technology in the classroom leads to more effective learning experiences (I know I do!). While technology in the classroom can lead to these experiences, teachers have to take care to still lead with instruction rather than the tools.

It can be tempting to use technology in the classroom just because it’s available. There are so many neat ways to use technology, but teachers need to analyze devices carefully so that they are leading with learning and not the device. Philip and Antero warn, “powerful technological tools, in the absence of powerful pedagogy, detract from rather than contribute to learning” (2013, p. 313).

 It is essential that we start with the objectives in mind in order to lead with learning. Moss, Brookhart, and Long's “Knowing Your Learning Target” is an excellent resource: “the first thing students need to learn is what they’re supposed to be learning” (2011, p. 66). I really like the analogy that they used. They compare this idea to a global positioning system (GPS). A GPS can provide lots of information about where you are, how long your trip will be, and directions to your destination. But a GPS first needs to have an exact description of where you want to go. A learning target works the same way, in providing a 'destination' for students. Learning targets, unlike instructional objectives, are designed just for students. If students do not know what they should be learning, they can’t know whether they’ve been successful at the end of a lesson.

Once we grasp the concept of learning targets, THEN we can focus on how to best utilize technology as a tool. The authors explain that “each task [should] explicitly connect to [the] target” of the lesson. In the same way, any technology utilized in a lesson should be explicitly connected to the objective being taught. Technology should have a specific purpose for enhancing a lesson, and is not to be used solely as an attention-grabber. I found Philip and Garcia's thoughts on this right on point: “it is critical to shift from a perception of a technological tool as an inherent object of youth interest or as a surrogate for effective teaching to an explication of its particular affordances within a classroom context” (2013, p. 311).

With all this in mind, teachers should delve into selecting the appropriate technologies to use only when they will support learning. A tool should not be used without a specific purpose in enhancing learning. In “6 Tips for Choosing Digital Tools to Support 21st Century Student Learning”, Kimberly Tyson discusses the importance of helping students choose the right digital tools stating that “tools, when chosen carefully, help teachers support, enhance, and extend student learning” (2013). She gives several invaluable tips for selecting appropriate technology to use in the classroom. Research and time should be dedicated to the decision of what technological resources should be integrated into the classroom.  Tyson’s six tips are helpful and straightforward points that give teachers guidelines on selecting technology resources:

  1. Select tools that help students design and personalize their learning experience.

  2. Choose tools that support effective classroom instruction.

  3. Find tools that facilitate collaboration between students and teachers.

  4. Select digital tools that support students as they build and hone their curation skills.

  5. Introduce students to tools that help them get and stay organized.

  6. Utilize virtual tools that support blended learning models. (Tyson, 2013)

Although all six tips are helpful, tip number two (choose tools that support effective classroom instruction) seems the most significant. To me, this is another way of saying that tools are to be used as a means to an end, not an end in themselves.

            

But it’s easy to say this; it’s another thing to actually implement this idea. So then the question becomes: how does a teacher choose tools to support effective classroom instruction? Kelly Walsh suggests that the way to select the “Best Apps for Teaching and Learning” is to use a rubric. There are many rubrics online for evaluating the effectiveness of apps, but one in particular that I found really helpful was one that Walsh describes. It’s called the Evaluation Rubric for iPod/iPad Apps. Apps are ranked on their offerings in these categories: Curriculum Connection, Authenticity, Feedback, Differentiation, User Friendliness, Student Motivation, and Reporting.

Resources:

Moss, C. M., Brookhart, S. M., & Long, B. A. (2011). Knowing your learning target.

            Educational Leadership, 68(6), 66-69.

Phillip, T. M., & Garcia, A. D. (2013). The importance of still teaching the iGeneration: new

            technologies and the centrality of pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 83(2), 300-

            319

Tyson, K. (2013, June 11). 6 tips for choosing digital tools to support 21st century student

            learning. Dr. Kimberly's Literacy Blog. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

Walsh, K. (2012, November 25). Selecting the best apps for teaching and learning- use a rubric!             Retrieved March 30, 2015.