Edtech Treks: Squeaks, Squeals & Squawks

Plan B: The Next Generation

Hi Everyone

The introduction to my lesson plan (Plan B: The Next Generation) follows below. I tried to upload the full document on our EdTech Leaders Online classroom site, but it exceeds the maximum upload size permitted. So I’ve posted the full lesson here as a Microsoft Word attachment.

This has been a very exciting class. I’m sorry to see it end. I look forward to continuing our work together on Jim’s Ning.

Carol

Introduction

“There is a growing recognition that kids’ passion for digital media has been ignited more by peer group sociability and play than academic learning…This gap between in-school and out-of-school experience represents a gap in children’s engagement in learning, a gap in our research and understandings, and a missed opportunity to reenergize public education. The daily practice of teaching is drastically improved if educators can come from a perspective that understands the behaviors of their students. If all they see from their students are behaviors that appear foreign or are prohibited by the school (e.g. cell phones and texting), then educators are missing out on the myriad of ways to connect with their students and youth culture. Because of the gap between in-school and out-of-school experience with digital media, making a conscious effort to empathize with life for today’s teenagers is a prerequisite for good teaching.”

Digital Media and the iGeneration: A High School Teacher’s Guide to Debunking the Myths and Understanding the Reality of Today’s Media Savvy Youth [from the Description and Rationale in the Book Prospectus, Corwin Press (In press). [More information about the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation funded project carried out by researchers at University of Southern California and University of California, Berkeley can be found at Digital Youth Research: Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media, http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/.]

Every fall, I teach a 13-week course titled Impact of Technology at Hampshire Educational Collaborative (http://www.collaborative.org) in Northampton. That course focuses on technology tools for teaching and learning. Participants are typically teachers seeking certification or pursuing advanced degrees. Since they range in technology skill levels and abilities, we start by exploring conventional software tools like Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Inspiration, ReadPlease! (text-to-speech), and Adobe Photoshop Elements (introductory image editor). Other classes cover: media literacy (copyright, plagiarism and how to determine the legitimacy of Web content), Internet resources for teaching and learning (lesson plans and best practice strategies), Weblogs (Blogs) for communication and collaborative learning, and assessment to meet the needs of diverse learners.

A recent meta-analysis by Cisco Systems and Metiri Group (2008) examined evidence from several research studies on the value of multimedia for education. Researchers concluded that “multimodal learning–using many modes and strategies that cater to individual learners’ needs and capacities–is more effective than traditional, unimodal learning, which uses a single mode or strategy” (Stansbury 2008, p. 6). In other words, “adding visuals to verbal (textual and/or auditory) instruction can result in significant gains in basic or higher-order learning, if applied appropriately. Students using a well-designed combination of visuals and text learn more than students who use only text…” (Stansbury 2008, p. 6). Since our students also exhibit a passion for digital media, and these media support multimodal learning by facilitating the integration of text, pictures, animation, and narration into classroom instruction, it stands to reason that lessons incorporating multimodal designs can both motivate and encourage learning while simultaneously helping students to learn more efficiently. The research confirms that: “students engaged in learning that incorporates multimodal designs, on average, outperform students who learn using traditional approaches with single modes, the report says” (Stansbury 2008, p. 6). To accommodate both the multimodal and “digital native” (Prensky 2001) propensities of 21^st century students and give teachers access to additional technology tools they can use with students, I will provide learners with hands-on training in several conventional and Web 2.0 technology tools for enhanced productivity, information sharing and collaborative exchange.

Standards:

TL-V Productivity and Professional Practice (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTechnologyFacilitatorsandLeaders/Technology_Leadership_Standards.htm#Product)

Educational technology leaders design, develop, evaluate and model products created using technology resources to improve and enhance their productivity and professional practice. Educational technology leaders:

A. Use technology resources to engage in ongoing professional development and lifelong learning. Candidates:

1. design, prepare, and conduct professional development activities to present at the school/district level and at professional technology conferences to support ongoing professional growth related to technology.

2. plan and implement policies that support district-wide professional growth opportunities for staff, faculty, and administrators.

B. Continually evaluate and reflect on professional practice to make informed decisions regarding the use of technology in support of student learning. Candidates:

1. based on evaluations make recommendations for changes in professional practices regarding the use of technology in support of student learning.

C. Apply technology to increase productivity. Candidates:

1. model the integration of data from multiple software applications using advanced features of applications such as word processing, database, spreadsheet, communication, and other tools into a product.

D. Use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning. Candidates:

1. model and implement the use of telecommunications tools and resources to foster and support information sharing, remote information access, and communication between students, school staff, parents, and local community.

2. organize, coordinate, and participate in an online learning community related to the use of technology to support learning.

3. organize and coordinate online collaborative curricular projects with corresponding team activities/responsibilities to build bodies of knowledge around specific topics.

4. design, modify, maintain, and facilitate the development of Web pages and sites that support communication and information access between the entire school district and local/state/national/international communities.

Resources:

• Cisco Systems and Metiri Group (2008). Multimodal Learning through Media: What the Research Says. http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/Multimodal-Learning-Through-Media.pdf.
• ISTE (2008) Technology Leadership Standards (http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTechnologyFacilitatorsandLeaders/Technology_Leadership_Standards.htm).
• Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–2. Available: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
• Stansbury, Meris (March 26, 2008). Analysis: How multimedia can improve instruction. eSchoolNews May 2008, Vol. 11 (5), p. 6. Retrieved from Web May 15, 2008 from http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53243