The Flying Carpet—Technology in the Elementary Classroom

How much do you remember about your elementary education? Do you recall sitting on that large square rug learning colors and numbers, or in bigger desks memorizing maps and learning state capitals?  Most of us recall our younger years in the classroom, but as I think back, I also realize that what I learned in those classes felt completely removed from the “real-world.” 

I’m sure my teachers tried to make connections for us-- illustrate that what we were learning had impact, had meaning, and was a small piece of the much larger world that we lived in. I didn’t see those connections until I was much older.

But oh how lucky our elementary children are today!  With new technology in the classroom, they are introduced to the world in full color, full interactivity, and receive a hands-on experience.  These digital natives are introduced to iPads and computers from the minute they can stretch out their fingers. The world is a much smaller place for them; one that is accessible from the click of a button. It becomes less ephemeral and more experiential.

They become digital citizens early, and this is a good thing! And while many may worry about the negative impacts of early technology integration, the benefits for the little ones will far outweigh the negatives. 

 So, what are the positives?

First, students are exposed to good digital citizenship, as their teachers model it.  When a first grade teacher and her class use Twitter to update parents on her class’s activities each day, students become a part of that experience. They learn what is appropriate to write and what is not as they discuss possible tweets to send. 

This ability to differentiate what is important is an excellent lesson, as I am sure many high school and college-age students could attest. Early experience with good digital citizenship might prevent mistakes later on, and knowing “appropriate” sharing becomes a part of the small child’s knowledge; it becomes second nature.

In addition to exposure to online etiquette, students learn that school is not simply classes that take place within the four walls of a building.  Learning is ever-changing, dynamic, and asynchronous. Blogs, Youtube, and online communication make our world part of their lives. Unlike my generation, elementary students can chat with students anywhere else in the world through video, blogs, or online discussion forums. Imagine if you might have had the opportunity to Skype with students in Italy when you were studying ancient Rome?  If your teacher could have provided interactive pictures with “lectures” you could have viewed multiple times at home.

Finally, perhaps one of the most important aspects is that children are learning to code switch at a much younger age.  They should be taught formal vs. informal writing immediately. Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are informal; whereas, writing an email or blog will be more formal. The rhetorical situation will be introduced earlier. Students begin to comprehend writer’s purpose, the importance of knowing your audience, and of placing writing in a real-world context.

While these are only three of the many benefits of an early introduction of technology, they illustrate that teachers can redefine how learning takes place in their elementary classes (or any class). Just as the SAMR model introduced by Ruben Puentedura proposes a path of substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition of educators’ previous lessons, we can see the obvious benefits of re-thinking our presentation of material and our method of assessment—weaving our new technology seamlessly into our instruction—to create a connection between our students and their world. With technology, we are able to transform that carpet where learning takes place into a “flying carpet,” transporting students out of the room.

Generation G: Clicking Our Brains Out

Next time you’re with your students, look around.  How many of them have smartphones in their hands? In a lot of classrooms, the answer will be all of them. Every teen has the web in his or her pocket. And it’s not so easy to unplug.

We are almost physically attached to our technology at this point. When you ask a student put his phone away, watch how truly difficult it is for him to separate himself from his device. We may all be just one step away from M.T. Anderson’s chip-in-brain version of the future in his novel Feed.

This profound attachment is the reason I’ve been raving about using technology and social media in the classroom for the past year—my students are part of the Google Generation.  They prefer learning by Googling, and I’m meeting them online in hopes ofreaching them. Teachers were once the Keepers of the Knowledge, but that is no longer the case.  I mean, compared to the knowledge the Internet holds, I’m an idiot.  I do not know one iota of what can be searched via Google.  With one click, students can learn more about Frankenstein than I know, and I’ve been teaching it for thirteen years.  As scary as this capability may be, it’s a wake-up call about my methods of instruction.

The answers to many of our questions are no longer hard to find. Generation G takes an instant-gratification approach to knowledge (along with everything else). We are one click away from any information we want. You need to know what Mary Shelley writes about the creature’s origins in Frankenstein? Click.  Page sixty. Want to know what Einstein discovered? Click. Want to know if a butterfly can change its colors? Click.  Want to know the answers to Ms. Morrell’s homework assignment? Click.

Right now you’re thinking, I know how to solve this problem. Ask your students to complete higher-order thinking questions! Pose analysis and synthesis questions that can’t be insta-Googled.

Of course, we should always have been aiming for the top of the pyramid anyway. But Gen-G takes a different approach to even complex problems. Thanks to iChat, Facebook, and Skype, almost no assignment is completed by individual effort. Generation G has all their contacts just one click away. Why waste time when someone else probably already has the answer or info? These kids instinctively form cooperative groups. The Internet has fostered the collective hive-mind.

I went through a few old notebooks last week. What I couldn’t help but notice was the degree to which my students’ assignments from 2000 differed from this year’s work.  Perhaps a portion of that growth has to be attributed to my becoming a more seasoned teacher, but I also believe a large part of that change is prompted by the universe of knowledge at my students’ fingertips.

There are drawbacks to the collective, of course. To extend the hive analogy, we need to be aware of dominant “queen bees” disseminating their ideas to less inquisitive members of the group.

We also need to train our students to be discriminating consumers of knowledge. More and more we are battling the very deeply ingrained belief that information published on the web is true or valid—or even useful. Our students who view their smartphones as very nearly a physical appendage tend to believe what they hear, see, and read online. And more and more, the web is filled with misinformation. We need to go beyond teaching them about our subjects; we need to teach them to navigate Googleland with a discerning eye.

And that’s the number one reason why we need to bring technology and social media into our classrooms. They are already using it. You can’t uncast that die. Today, it is part of our job to help Generation G to navigate the labyrinthine world of the web. To go beyond “Google it” so that each student can harness this incredible tool to really understand the lessons we are teaching.

A Special Thanks to Jennifer Howard.

Adaptation of the Species: iBooks Author in the Classroom

I once overheard a colleague state that textbooks are outdated; that flat images on paper are going the way of the dinosaur—extinct. 

Okay, so admittedly, that educator was me, and perhaps the statement is a bit premature, as many students do not yet own laptops or tablets.  But the revolution is coming! I’ve got my “end of the world as we know it” sign ready to display, and R.E.M singing in my head.

 Our students need interactive textbooks with images and words that can be manipulated, books that encourage them to be active participants in their own education.  Just think what Google has done for homework help.  If you can name a subject, chances are that somewhere on the internet is a website or even a tutor to help. Students can Facebook, Tweet, or Skype with anyone, anywhere. This new generation is permanently connected to media, growing up with their digital devices as additional appendages.  Even preschoolers are now learning on tablets. If there is any doubt, just take a look at the new Disney’s AppMATes  or Mattel’s Apptivity.—these new apps allow partnered toys to be moved about on the face of the iPad while the app interacts with those toys.

So, the question is:  shouldn’t our textbooks allow the same interaction with content? 

With iBooks Author and iPad, educators are able to create their own textbooks for their courses, to make those books interactive by adding pictures, graphs, links to websites and activities; we can add lecture files and videos, even reading checks and quizzes at the end of each section. For the first time, a teacher can step away from what the textbook companies think her students need and explore what she knows her students need.  And perhaps the most impressive feature—iBooks Author and the iBooks app are FREE. 

In August, I had my first experience with iBooks Author.  I co-authored an iBook for a conference-- #Reaching the Tweeps- The Role of Social Media in Education.  As with any new endeavor, I worried about the difficulty of using the iBooks Author software, but it is much like Pages or Microsoft Word.  With just a few clicks, teachers are able to copy, paste, and insert from documents that they’ve already made and load everything into an iBook template. Pictures, videos, and audio clips can also be added with a few swipes of the mouse.  Author software is so intuitive, your inserted passages and objects will be automatically positioned for you.  The end result will be a professional ebook.

Use iBooks Author to publish your own course materials:
1. curate a variety of content—websites, documents, pdfs, pictures, sound clips, or videos

2. share your content with students, parents, and co-workers for free—even publishing with a password requirement

3. embed interactive models for students to turn, twist, spin, and manipulate

4. include links for any websites—e-magazines, e-newspapers, online quizzes, and games

5. content can be made available anywhere for students on-the-go

6. publish quickly and easily, and update your book after it is published

While iBooks Author is a great tool for teachers to create content, it is also an excellent way for students to publish their own work.  For example, one of my classes is currently writing a novel.  Each student is composing one chapter of a fictional story. We will be publishing this work as an iBook when we’ve finished, and to say that my class is excited is an understatement! The quality of work that is being produced is far superior to assignments I’ve received in the past. Why? Because their story will be published—officially “purchasable” by others as an ebook.  It gives their effort meaning; their hard work, reward.

Use iBooks Author for student publications:

1. 1.     Your students can create an iBook of their coursework and publish it as a portfolio or final project.
2. 2.     Your students can collaborate to create study guides for other students.
3. 3.     Your students can publish a literary or arts magazine for your school with no publication costs.
4. 4.     Your students can work together to create their own novel or anthology of original short stories.

As with any new software or device, there are drawbacks. Your students must have iPads to view the books; the iTunes processing time can vary (our #Reaching the Tweeps ebook took less than 24 hours), and your content must be original or royalty free.

For my own courses, it is the juggling of online vidoes, Youtube clips, ancillary reading, newspaper and magazine articles, art, and other media and text that creates confusion in class.  As I work on my iBook for next year – to use as the “textbook” for the course—I begin to realize that my students will be able to locate everything in one place.  The balancing act will be a bit easier. 

Isn’t that what technology is really meant to do: make our lives easier and better organized? I’ve spoken with a lot of people who disdain ebooks and iBooks—vowing that the paper versions will always be their choice. But as a teacher today, I know I need to reach my students where they live.

And many of them have never even stepped foot inside a library.