Classroom Management and Technology

Every so often, it's helpful to think about technology integration from the ground level.  While collaborative writing tools, dynamic simulations, streaming video and interactive tools all provide tremendous opportunities to engage kids in learning, it's good to step back and consider how to make it all work with real kids in a real classroom.  Some days, leading a group of students down to the computer lab can feel like a bit of this...

Image courtesy of spaceamoeba

The reality is, that to make the most with technology in the classroom, it's crucial to have some practical strategies to most effectively prepare and manage technology use.  In class last night, we talked over some tips and things to consider when planning for and facilitating learning with technology.  More specifically, we focused on a variety of projects (e.g., creating a Glog on a writer, publishing a podcast for student interviews, developing a multimedia timeline to trace scientific advances) that might take place in a computer lab.  While we discussed several potential strategies, they basically could be combined into three categories:

  1. Preparation, preparation preparation - the importance of planning ahead to clearly delineate the purpose for the project, the specific steps and thinking that students would need to engage in, and identifying a viable and productive "plan b" if some aspect of the technology fails
  2. Develop routines and clear expectations - help students to understand in advance what will be expected of them, how and where to save their work, what to do if they need help, and what they need to complete at the end of the session
  3. Identify ways to scaffold student thinking - in more complex, cognitively-demanding projects, it's important to consider a variety of ways to scaffold students through the process - handouts, checklists, regular check-ins/consultations may help students nagivate the process effectively

In the end, though, we realized that classroom management with technology isn't all that different than any kind of student-centered work in the classroom.  Effective organization, clear expectations, and appropriate scaffolding all contribute to an effective learning experience. With the greater degree of uncertainty and potential for glitches that is possible with technology, however, these strategies are even that much more important.