The Digital Natives encounter a surplus of learning opportunities on their laptops, tablets, smart phone apps and almost anywhere they can get their hands on a technological device. But just because they have these apps and devices at their disposal doesn’t mean they will be learning. As educators, we have to make sure we are preparing them for 21st Century learning in the classrooms so they are prepped for their futures.
What is so exciting to me is that I will be teaching English to high school students in an entirely different way than my predecessors taught me. While I used to be stuck at home memorizing page up page of content for homework, or sitting in the classroom regurgitating what the teacher wanted us to learn, these students of the Digital Age will be able to navigate a laptop, tablet or phone for their content and information in very little time. Now that the content is at their fingertips, I will be able to help them focus on how they should manipulate the content. Coming from an advertising background, this type of teaching excites me due to its creative nature. My thought processes have taken me through how to integrate the 4Cs of Learning with technology in my classroom and ideas for projects or ways to enhance older lessons plans that didn’t seem to engage the students.
A few examples of the way I would approach this would be:
Collaboration: One effective way of valuing a student’s work and providing them incentive is to plan a way to show their finished activity or product. I would like to have groups in the class write graphic novels or record a podcast. With the graphic novels, we could either self-publish them or post them on a school-only website for parents and other students to see. Or for the podcast activity we could have a listening party with parents and other classes. They will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, and will also have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers around the tablets and laptops while they concept their ideas for a graphic novel or subjects for a podcast.
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Mind mapping (and the plethora of apps available for mind mapping) is a wonderful way for the students to puzzle out the meaning of the required reading they will encounter in high school. I remember forming a book club in high school as a way to collaborate and problem-solve while we made our way through the classic books. With mind mapping, I can set up basic questions and themes (for example, based on Last of the Mohicans) and assign teams or individuals to mind map the assignment. This makes reflecting on their book more interactive and fun then writing a “book report” like we used to in my day.
Communication: Although still brainstorming on this, I have put some thought into how I can facilitate communication with my students. One way is to communicate with them silently by providing them with and inspiration learning environment in the classroom: Warm and inviting colors on the walls, seating arranged to invite collaboration, lamps and painting, framed book posted, highly organized reading nooks with comfortable seating (and I could go on about feng shui for awhile too. This type of communication is telling them you care about their mental well being and energy levels while they learn.
I would also like to communicate with my students (and parents) in a variety of ways so that they can access information from me anytime they need it: a blog in the form of a newsletter, a class website and texting system that can only be accessed through a school tool such as www.Edmodo.com. This website lets you log in and access information for your school, classes and teachers only (therefore making their communication environment safe).
Creativity: Creativity is one of my favorite words in the English language. I even have a necklace with the world “Create” etched in metal. There are too many examples I could provide for my future Language Arts classroom, but I do know that I’ll have the students fully immersed in ICT. Instead of the old school way of journaling while the English teacher sat at her desk and graded papers, we will be creating blogs, using journaling through apps like Day One, writing online news articles and graphic novels, and creating content for Pod Casts. How can students fully understand and appreciate literature, poems and and other forms of texts if they are not fully engaged? Immersing them in a range of creative activities that will get them excited about the journey ahead through a film project, for example, give students a chance to talk over ideas and concepts. The activities can be collaborative or individual, but the reward is they will be more engaged and ready to take on the subject or text at hand.
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