A Blueprint for Connecting Students to Learning
Advances
in technology create unique opportunities for education. At the speed of light,
students, teachers and parents are connecting via the web to collaborate, communicate
and create learning opportunities that did not exist a few years ago. While
physical space occupied by a classroom may remain the same, the evolution of
the virtual space continues to change. This paper will attempt to draw a
blueprint for an elementary classroom in five years.
Classroom
in the Cloud
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Few
technological advances have had more affect on the classroom environment than the
cloud – an interconnected web of servers holding a wealth of information.
Innovations in content delivery, progress reporting and monitoring, and stakeholder
communication brought about by the economy of scale derived from cloud-based
systems will continue to connect students to content, parents to their child’s
educational experience, and teachers to data, resources, and students. Software
resources once prohibitively expensive are now available to teachers to aid in
differentiating instruction, creating collaborative environments, promoting
inquiry, and developing student-centered environments where “the most resilient and effective forms of
learning happen(s) when there's motivation, engagement, social support, and
when the learning is real-world, intergenerational, and connected to young
people's lives in a meaningful way.” (Ito, 2013) In five years differentiated, self-paced,
inquiry-driven student classrooms enabled by cloud computing will be the rule
and not the exception.
Open Content
Open
access to web resources and content via apps, web 2.0 tools, wikis and blogs
creates the necessity for ubiquitous and diverse web-enabled devices. In this
future classroom wireless connectivity with sufficient bandwidth enables
teachers and “students opportunities to take advantage of the most up-to-date
technologies in the classroom.” (Nelson, 2007) While some would argue for
standardization i.e. teachers and students all using an identical device, (Piehler,
2013) which does have distinct advantages for professional development and
lesson planning, a more likely scenario is one where a variety of devices –
tablets, laptops, and mobile devices – coexist in the same environment at least
until districts implement standard device environments. (Piehler, 2013) It would seem more likely that diverse device
environments born from BYOD initiatives will become the norm, requiring
educators to rethink digital literacy and move from device dependent skills to
a broader concept of web-enabled skills that are device independent. In five
years, having a web-enabled device – any device – will be standard in all
elementary classrooms as pedagogy becomes more reliant on web-based content.
Game
Based Learning
Games,
whether apps, web 2.0 or proprietary, offer students immediate feedback, opportunities
to think critically and problem-solve, experiment, and experience failure in a
virtual world. (Gee, n.d., Barab, n.d., Raymer, 2011) Games played across a
wifi network also provide opportunities for collaboration, goal-setting, strategic
planning, and communicating with a high level of user engagement. (Raymer,
2011, Chatfield, 2010) Educators have known for years that games engage
students. What technology has brought to educational gaming is the ability to
differentiate instruction and provide opportunities for higher-level thinking that
engages each student. Games also provide glimpses into how students think,
providing educators with a valuable assessment piece. (Parisi, 2012) When
coupled with project-based learning, gaming immerses students in content
providing opportunities to become experts in their fields. Furthermore, many
Common Core State Standards are predicated on providing tech-rich content to
develop mastery in 21st Century skills. Games facilitate these
skills, target areas for enrichment and intervention, and personalize the learning
experience. In five years, an elementary classroom without some degree of
“gamification” will not provide the best environment for meeting the needs of
diverse student populations.
Mobiles
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Diversity
will be found not only in student populations. Creating technology-infused
classrooms, especially 1:1 device to student classrooms, is prohibitively
expensive for many districts. Even with the development of inexpensive, durable
internet enabled tablets, (Bonnington, 2013) the cost of providing each student
with a device is an obstacle to creating the connected elementary classroom.
For many districts the investment in infrastructure alone will require
considerable capital. One solution is already in the pockets of many students –
cellular phones. (Higgins, 2013) Increasingly elementary students are receiving
hand-me-down cell phones from parents to use for entertainment. In many cases,
these devices no longer have cellular service, yet can connect to district
password protected wifi networks allowing for filtered access to web-based
content. These essentially free devices provide a viable option to creating the
1:1 classroom environment found in many district’s technology plans. In five
years, students will connect to the web via a variety of mobile devices to collaborate
on lesson, discover content and for assessments.
Learning
Analytics
Big
data and learning analytics have become ingrained in the culture of education
as governmental officials, administrators, parents and teachers incorporate
data to inform instruction. Technology tools simplify data collection and
analysis; however, current reliance on computer labs to administer assessments
strains the capacity of these labs and leaves them available for little else
than assessment data collection. Contrary to these standardized, corporate,
proprietary applications, a significant number of web apps have been created in
the past few years to assess students and collect data. Many of these apps are
game-based and more engaging for students than the electronic bubble tests they
are subject to in computer labs. Student information is readily accessible and
available in “real time.” In five years, there will be a movement away from
formal, standardized lab-based assessments and toward more “on-demand”
assessments of learning.
Personal
Learning Environments
Education
is experiential. The experiences of students in connected environments engage
them in learning on a personal level allowing them to construct knowledge in a
way that is meaningful. (Siemans, n.d.) Educators will facilitate learning
between 7:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., but the physical space of school will no longer
define learning. Organized around connected learning theory, schools will “leverage various experiences, interests, communities,
and contexts in which learners participate - both in and out of school - as
potential learning opportunities.” (McCrea, 2013) Student assessment will
center on what a student can create or curate – providing artifacts that
illustrate learning has occurred though the production of a product. (Blending
High and Low Tech, n.d.) Learning will become more cooperative. Teachers and students
will of necessity learn from each other in a connected environment. An elementary classroom in five years will be
a diversified, personalized, and engaging learning space where students and teachers
are connected to content, each other and the world through digital media.
References
Barab,
S., (Edutopia.org., n.d.) Big
Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement. [video] Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video
Blending
High- and Low-Tech Worlds with a Maker-Driven Agenda: A
Few Moments with Kylie Peppler (n.d.) Retrieved
on November 2, 2013 from http://dmlhub.net/newsroom/expert-interviews/blending-high-and-low-tech-worlds-maker-driven-agenda
Bonnington, C. (January, 2013). A Cheap, Rugged Tablet Is Your Kid’s Next
Fixation. Retrieved on November 2, 2013 from http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/01/kids-tablets-ipad/McCrea, B. (2013, January 15). 5 K-12 Technology Trends to Watch in 2013. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/01/15/5-k12-technology-trends-to-watch-in-2013.aspx#OiA0h1DdUkPweyqo.99
Nelson, S. (2013, February 7). McAllen ISD Distributes 22,000 Mobile Devices to Students And Teachers.Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/02/07/mcallen-isd-distributes-22000-mobile-devices-to-students-and-teachers.aspx#mJycaQF6MhMp7lJs.99
Parisi, L. (2012, May 12). Teaching with Games: GLPC Case Study: Lisa [video] Retreived from http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/national-survey-and-video-case-studies-teacher-attitudes-about-digital-games-in-the-classroom/
Piehler, C. (2013, January 28). Is BYOT Just a Bridge to 1-to-1? Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/01/28/is-byot-just-a-bridge-to-1-to-1.aspx#ajezhQH6c81OtkXM.99
Raymer, R. (2011, September). Gamification: Using Game Mechanics to Enhance eLearning Retrieved from http://elearnmag.acm.org/archive.cfm?aid=2031772
Siemens, G. (Edutopia.org n.d.) The Changing Nature of Knowledge [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMcTHndpzYg
Gee,
J.P., (Edutopia.org n.d). Big
thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games. [video] Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-james-gee-video
Higgins,
J. (2013, August 7). More schools use cellphones as learning tools. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/08/07/views-shift-on-cell-phones-in-schools/2607381/
Ito,
M. (2013, January). Connected Learning:
An Agenda for Social Change. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mimi-ito/connected-learning_b_2478940.html
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