The term Digital Native refers to someone who has been brought up in the age of technology. But guess what....they still stink at using technology. Ok, so they can get on Snapchat, create awesome YouTube videos, and navigate Madden 2017 like nobody's business.....but they struggle with forms of technology meant for school and the workforce. Don't overestimate students knowledge of techA costly mistake many teachers make is assume the students know how to do what you are asking them to do. You ask them to upload a paper into OneNote or insert a picture into a Google Doc......those words may have very little meaning to them. So what happens? The teacher gets frustrated that they didn't do the assignment right, blame the tech or the student, get annoyed, students still doesn't know to fix it, so everyone gives up. Or maybe they have more perseverance but still end up frustrated and more reluctant to use tech in the future. SAVE YOURSELF THE FRUSTRATION AND DON'T FORGET YOUR TECH DIRECTIONS. Creating directionsIn my case, I make all my directions in OneNote, since that is what we primarily use. If you are a Google guy or gal then use docs, sheets, or slides to keep your directions.
1. Brainstorm all the different "tech" applications you typically use. Maybe it is inserting a picture, emailing a file, uploading a video, creating a table, using the audio features, etc. 2. Start creating the tech directions for those items. As you write the directions, perform the task. You want to be as clear as possible and write the directions as your students would use it. 3. SAVE your directions in whatever form you would usually use them. So if it is OneNote directions, save it in your Master OneNote notebook. If it is docs directions, save it on a Google Doc, same with slides, etc. 4. When it is time for to use the directions simply open the file you already created and copy and paste into your assignment. For me, I use the Snipping Tool and snip a picture of the directions and paste directly onto the OneNote page. This will save you time in the long run. It is super simple, but can save so much frustration for you and your students, and allow you to focus more on the learning and less on the tool. Here are some examples I have created in my OneNote notebook.
0 Comments
Here is the 2nd part of the "Reworking the Worksheet" series. Again, we look at what the goal of the worksheet was trying to accomplish and seeing how it can be reworked into a more engaging, challenging, and creative version. For this, we will look at worksheets that aim to address comprehension and summarizing concepts. #2: Goal of the Worksheet is Comprehension or SummaryDifferentiation: Instead of handing out a paper copy, make an electronic copy and let the apps help your students! There are so many amazing apps out there that can help learning who struggle with reading. Here are a couple:
Creativity: Get creative! Let your students use different mediums and apps to show comprehension. Paper worksheets only allow for written demonstration of knowledge. Let them use video, audio, and other web apps to demonstrate and show off their creative thinking.
Be Relevant: Let's get real.....summarizing a paper in 5-7 sentences isn't a relevant assignment. So why is this skill important? Everyday we go through life trying to make sense of what we see, hear, and read. Being able to identify what is important and irrelevant could not be more important in a world that is bombarded by media at every turn.
I know, I know......worksheets are always getting bashed. But here me when I say, there are some really good reasons, not to use the worksheet model anymore. So I plan on offering simple ways to "rework the worksheet" that are feasible for all teachers and have a positive impact on students. First, we will look at the goal of the worksheet and and ways to revamp to better meet these goals through the use of technology. #1 - Goal of Worksheet is to Practice Typically, when I ask teachers what the goal of their worksheet is, the answer is usually to PRACTICE. Students need to practice a particular concept in order to ultimately master it. The problem with using our typical worksheet model for practice, is that it fails to: 1) Provide timely feedback and 2) fit the needs of learners at different levels. So how can we still allow our students to practice more effectively? Take a look at the worksheet below. The main goal of this worksheet is to practice completing math problems using the order of operations. *If feedback is not immediately given (and let's get real!) teachers are not going to check/grade the assignment until at earliest the next day, and by then it is too late. Students are going to be on different levels of mastery before they even begin the worksheet. At this point it is one-size fits all. So let's fix it. I used Microsoft Forms (Google Forms will work as well) to recreate this worksheet with our 2 problems in mind. The students are still practicing their order of operations, but this time they are receiving feedback as they move through each question and branching of the questions allows our lower-level learners to practice ore of the basic concepts, and our higher-level learners are moving on to more challenging questions. Go ahead, try it out! CLICK HERE (Be sure to plug in some wrong answers to see how the branching works!) *This form does not walk through ALL problems, but does give you an example of feedback and branching. FEEDBACK AND BRANCHING: The first problem was incorrect. So the form took the student to Question #2. Question #2 then walked the student through how the answer was calculated. It then asked the student if they understood. If the student select NO, then it would take them to another question where the the problem was looked at with more detail. An image was inserted to help the student better understand the concept. They would then complete the SAME question as the student who selected YES, but with more guidance. TEACHER FEEDBACK! This time, if the student continued to miss the questions, they would be prompted to raise their hand so the teacher could come over. This gives the teacher IMMEDIATE feedback into who in the room is really struggling with the concepts. While the other students, who are not struggling, do not have to slow down in their work while you help the other students. MORE FEEDBACK OPTIONS! Don't forget the power of video. You can add video into your questions to give students more ways to receive feedback. The written step-by-step instructions may not be enough. So teachers can utilize the video features in forms to provide more effective feedback. FINAL FEEDBACK OPTION: Last, but not least, don't forget to get some informal feedback for how your students are feeling about the particular lesson. Use this to help guide your instruction the next day. Now, wasn't that AMAZING?! Can your worksheet offer all of this to students? No. Utilize branching features in forms to let students work through a path that best fits their individual needs. Use questions to embed feedback and keep their learning on track. No student likes to find out they did 10 questions wrong, after they have completed an entire worksheet. Get ahead of the problem and provide timely feedback so mistakes are corrected as they move through the problem sets. I believe these 2 features alone, will help you see major progress in the learning that you see with your students. Would love to hear your feedback! Hit me up on Twitter @Mer_Townsend and let me know what you think! |
AuthorFollow me on Twitter @Mer_Townsend Archives
April 2018
Categories
All
|