I teach high school science,
chiefly biology and chemistry, to students spanning grades 9-12, depending on
the class. I’m currently doing research and helping out in a 9th
grade biology classroom. We don’t have computers in the classroom, though a
majority of my students do have smartphones and most have internet and
computers at home. I do have several students with no phones and/or extremely
limited technology access at home.
As a relative newcomer to the study
of educational technology, I’m more familiar with using actual rats in the
classroom than with using models of technology integration, such as RAT and
SAMR. I found the Replace, Amplify, and Transform hierarchy of the RAT model to
be very simple and easy to understand.
The first level, “Replace,” is
admittedly the most common in my technology use. Using a class website to post
assignments and PDF copies of book chapters is really just replacing paper with
a computer screen. I also use PowerSchool and PowerTeacher in place of attendance
sheets and gradebooks.
Using technology to “Amplify” outcomes
involves increasing efficiency of instruction or student learning, without
fundamentally changing either. One example is putting lectures on YouTube for
the purpose of flipped instruction. This may superficially seem like
replacement, swapping lecture for video. But because the video allows students
to absorb the material at home, at their own pace, this switch opens up class time
for practice and interaction, enhancing opportunities for learning. Another amplification technology I use frequently
is Remind, which enables a teacher to send messages via text, without either
the teacher or students seeing the others’ phone number. (For students on phone
plans that charge for texts, there’s an app to receive messages, and students
without phones may choose to receive them by email.) I use it to remind
students about assignments, days they need to bring their books in, and
sometimes to give hints or modify an assignment. This can be far more efficient
than writing reminders on the board and hoping students write them down. I’ve
found that more students turn in homework when a Remind has been sent.
“Transformation” via technology
aims to actually reinvent instruction and learning. One transformative use of
technology I’m interested in is the use of VoiceThread to facilitate comments and
discussion, in place of a discussion board. This could work much like the
Facebook group attempted in O’Bannon’s article, but I believe my students might
be more inclined to listen to other comments and to participate themselves in
an audio and/or video format than in a written one. Interactive discussion
where students have time to research and prepare their own comments enables a
higher level of discussion, and allows students who may normally be too shy to
comment in class to participate at a greater level. I’m particularly thinking
about my many ELL students, who don’t speak in class due to fear of misspeaking
and not being able to find the right words quickly.
Another transformative use of tech
I would like to try is using Google Docs to create a lab report developed and
discussed by the entire class. Students would communicate about each other’s
observations, and be tasked with finding supporting evidence and resources for
further information and exploration. The vast number of resources on the web
really transforms the way students can connect to lab experiences.
I enjoyed reading your post and was surprised to learn that you are using the tools I have been using for a long time also. I am glad we have been placed in the same group for the fifth week.
ReplyDeleteThe examples you gave for Replacement: online assignments or uploading the textbook pages on a class website, was it successful strategy? Did the students complete those assignments online? If so, did you get better work out of them in comparison to the hard copy assignments? I use google classroom a lot. When I assign online reading, most of the students don't read. I also assign "Do Now" on google classroom. They see each other's comments and respond using those ideas, unless I demand a private comment. The student engagement is the "Rebellion" kind, as they just use the technology to do other stuff, instead of engaging in the assigned work.
You also mentioned flipped classroom, by providing videos, powerpoint notes online on the previous day and use the class time to practice. I have also done that before with my Calculus class. Student engagement has been extremely low in my experience. Most of the students do not access the material or write their own notes for the concept. They come to the class with blank stares, expecting me to teach the concept all over again. Due to this dis-engagement, my strategy has failed. Not to mention that the concepts for the flipped classroom were easy.
Sneha,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the slow response, your comment somehow got stuck in a spam folder!
When using technology for replacement, I haven’t seen much difference at all in student outcomes. The same students fail to engage as do using traditional methods. The only advantage has been for the more forgetful students, who leave work in their lockers and fail to write down assignments. By putting the work online, these students can access it anytime, and can always check to see what they’re supposed to be doing that night. This is also useful to parents, who sometimes wonder if their student truly has no homework, and like to check up on them.
I’m not surprised by your experience with students glomming onto other people’s ideas, rather than coming up with original comments, mostly because I’ve seen this repeatedly in my own online classes! Requiring private comments avoids this, but then you miss out on discussion. I suspect students would need very clear guidelines about how to provide original comments, but I think some moderation and leading comments from the teacher could also help. Have you tried prompting or moderating student discussions?
As to flipped classrooms, I think it’s really important to structure the work students must do at home if you want any level of success with this method. In my experience, note taking is simply not a skill today's students have developed. Do you find that your students have been able to take good notes in class? If so, do you prompt them as to the most important points to write down?
In the successful flipped classroom I’ve been a part of, students are provided with handouts for each video that are essentially a framework for their notes. Slightly more detailed than an outline, these guide students through the video and how to capture key points. It’s exactly the same as a reading guide you might use to help students pull information from a book chapter. This gets around their lack of note taking skills, and provides support and structure so students never feel lost. The level of support in these note outlines can of course be varied to match the level of the class.
I also think it’s helpful when the videos are made by the classroom teacher. When using videos from another source, I think students often believe that at least some of the content won’t be relevant to them. If delivered by their own teacher, they know it’s all important and will be tested.
I have a LOT of thoughts on flipped classrooms, and I think they do involve some trial and error. It sounds like your first attempt didn’t work out, and I think this is very common. I'd encourage persistence, however. Calculus seems like a subject that could really benefit from an effective flipped approach, and I think with some tweaking, you might see significantly higher levels of engagement.
Hi Dayna,
DeleteI love the idea about Flipping the class by using You Tube. I currently work in a highschool and I have heard of several Science teachers using this technique via You Tube videos and/or notes posted to their classroom websites. These teachers have reported that they may flip their classroom right before a test so students have a chance to review the information and then come back to class to ask any questions that they may have prior to taking the test.
Also, after working on my assignment for this week, I believe that screencast would be helping for students and teachers when Flipping one's classroom.
I love the flipped classroom idea too. My only fear when assigning work that requires the use of technology outside of school is access. Many of my students come from lower income backgrounds, and I worry when I assign something that must be completed online that they may not have the technology access they need at home and might be too shy/embarrassed to tell me.
ReplyDeleteThat issue aside, however, I think the flipped classrooms could be really cool. To increase engagement, maybe some of the videos are created by students and they are teaching other students about a particular chapter. Students might deliver the content in a way that is even more engaging than what the teach could deliver.
Having students make some videos sounds like a great idea to increase engagement, I would definitely like to try that in the future.
DeleteThe access issue is one I seriously worry about as well with a flipped approach. I agree that many students won't come forward with information about their lack of technology access, but I think most students are honest if asked explicitly at the beginning of the semester, in writing, as part of a 'getting to know you' type survey.
I've only had experience with using this model in accelerated and AP classes, and all of the students had access to at least a computer consistently at home. I have seen a few students who didn't have access to reliable internet, and this was solved by using flash drives with the videos on them that students brought back and forth so videos could be swapped out.
For a student with no home computer access, I'm not sure how you'd get around this in a way that wouldn't be too burdensome to the student. I think this is an issue we'll run into more and more as Web 2.0 tools become increasingly popular. I really think this issue will need to be tackled at district levels, perhaps with loaner computers, though internet access will still be a serious hurdle. I'm not sure how our education system can embrace internet based teaching tools without leaving some underserved students behind.
Until we come up with ways to effectively bridge this gap, I think I'd avoid using a flipped approach in any class where home computer access wasn't universal. But this is an issue I really would like to see dealt with at a school/district/state level, as the digital divide truly becomes a civil rights issue where it intersects with public education.
Keep in mind that while computer and internet access is lagging, smartphone market penetration is not. So, how could a flipped classroom emphasize smartphones rather than a laptop or desktop?
ReplyDeleteThe primary issue with flipping is the pedagogy that takes place in class. If it's just 'do the homework in class and watch the lecture at home', don't expect much in the way of improved outcomes (i.e., it's replacement, maybe amplification).
Absolutely, doing homework in class gives very little advantage. I think a flipped classroom should open more discussion, more hands on experiences (in a science class, at least), more in-class collaboration and debate.
DeleteI always worry about students using smartphones for internet access, because not all students are on the same phone plans, and some may have very low data limits. Students with wi-fi at home can watch videos over that connection on their phone with no worries, and this can be a great substitute for a laptop. But students with no home internet would be reliant on data, and I know how easy it is for teenagers to go over data limits, with steep consequences on their phone bill. Large data plans are getting more affordable, so perhaps time will lessen this concern, but it seems to me that internet access is still an issue.