Use EdTech Effectively (K12)

Professor Mark Warschaeur (the force to be reckoned with when it comes to researching digital learning) found that "overall, students who are black, Hispanic, or low-income are more likely to use computers for drill-and-practice, whereas students who are white or high-income are more likely to use computers for simulations or authentic applications” (pg.148).

This mean that access alone isn’t enough to raise the bar for undeserved students.

 

Where I live in Silicon Valley, it is not uncommon for middle and high school students to write code, participate in blended lessons or explore a fabrication lab. But other students—the same age and living across the highway in a lower-income area—are much more hard-pressed to find opportunities like this within their schools and communities.

 

If we can’t use EdTech for skills and drills, then what can we use it for? Here are our suggestions, with five tips below providing a good starting point for anyone who wants to implement new digital tools or evaluate those tools already being used.

 

#1: Stop using technology for remediation!

Instead of using technology to drill kids on grade level standards, use it to help students engage in authentic tasks.

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Based on the research, we recommend digital tools that support problem solving, inferencing, analyzing & synthesizing information from multiple sources, as well as tools that develop 21st century skills, including communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking .

These should be prioritized 100% of the time over activities basic skill tasks (memorizing facts, applying rules, etc.).

 

E.g.:

Canva: A content creation web app that allows users to design presentations, social media graphics, posters, book covers, business cards and more.

Canva allows beginners to engage in professional looking information design without the huge learning curve that usually comes with this kind of work.

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#2: Let students create original digital content.

Give students opportunities to be content creators rather than content consumers.

Content creation—when done well—allows students to communicate their own ideas creatively.

 

Some examples include:

• using technology to craft multimedia stories;

• filming and producing documentaries or designing posters;

• leveraging social media as a tool for teaching and learning;

• publishing on wikis, blogs, and/or websites.

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The idea is that you want students to engage deeply in ongoing projects within and across platforms. As an added benefit, students can begin to build lifelong learning portfolios showcasing work that makes them proud.

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#3: Pick digital tools that promote interactivity and discovery.

Does the app or program allow students to construct their own understanding of complex phenomenon?

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Does it encourage students to represent thinking in multiple forms (text, pictures, videos, digital interactions or some combination of these)?

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Will students engage with data or true-to-life simulations?

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Will they use of sensors to measure real-life phenomenon?

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These are some of the markers of digital tools that support learning through interactivity and discovery.

To really find out about a tool’s level of interactivity and discovery (whether you are a designer, educator, administrator or policy maker), you need to engage with the digital tool—really get your hands dirty with the technology and use it the way students will. Test the digital tool, and use your activity and engagement as a lens to evaluate its capacity to support meaning-making and active reflection, related to desired learning outcomes.

 

#4: Honor students as experts, and let them share their expertise with an authentic audience.

With the internet at our fingertips, we have access to all kinds of potential audiences—known and unknown, local and global, those with shared interests, shared questions, shared goals.

Giving students an authentic audience to share their work improves the quality of their work.

 

Instead of writing about “how to make a ham sandwich” for the teacher, students could be writing or producing a video about “how to create a working calculator in Minecraft” for the robust Minecraft digital community.

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In the latter example, the readers are interested, their feedback is targeted and contextualized, and there are higher risks and rewards in terms of building confidence, content knowledge, and identity formation.

 

#5: Find the right blend of teacher and technology.

Significantly greater student satisfaction in environments with:

1) high levels of teacher support for the digital material

2) opportunities for peer interaction

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The authors of this report also recommended the use of real-time digital feedback in digital learning environments.