What questions should you and we be asking about the digital technologies we use for teaching and learning?

Colleagues,

What questions should you/we be asking about the digital technologies we use for teaching and learning?

For examples:

1. Who is the intended audience for this technology?

2. Does using this technology:

      a. Make it easier or better for me or my students to do what we are already doing?

      b. Help my students learn better than they can without the use of this technology?

      c. Make it harder for my students to interact with each other and with me?

      d. Help me or my students learn how they understand the underpinning ideas or concepts that are the focus of the lesson?

      e. Exacerbate existing inequities in adult basic skills (including ESL/ESOL} education?

Everyone:  which of these questions do you think we should ask?  What other questions should we ask about the digital technologies we use for teaching and learning?

David J. Rosen,. Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technologies group

Comments

David, a few more for consideration:

Does this tech:

  • improve retention of learners, make them less likely to drop out?

  • expand access to learners not currently served?

  • improve specific outcomes such as moving up ESL levels or passing the GED?

  • give learners individual personalized practice that they do not get in class?

  • enable learners to privately cover topics that could be embarrassing in class, such as fundamentals (alphabet or counting)?

Vinod

Thanks, Vinod, for your great questions about the technologies we (want to) use. I am hoping you have broken the ice and now we will have a flotilla of questions!

Everyone: I want to hear from many people in the Integrating Technology group: What questions should you -- and we -- be asking about the digital technologies we use for teaching and learning?

Do you have questions about a free or proprietary software or hardware product's: ease of use for teachers and students, ability to be customized for your students' needs, cost? Do you have questions about how to make time available to learn how to use software or hardware products well, what training is/should be provided, and how to start learning a new product? Do you have questions about where to find adult educators' reviews of products, and how to use those reviews well? What other questions do you have?

Later we may look at some of these questions in depth but, for now, let's generate all the questions. Please let us know what your questions are.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

LINCS CoP Integrating Technology group

 

If I am introducing a new website:

1) Have I thought about how best to introduce it to students?

2) Have I tried using it on student computers (or on whatever device they'll be using)?

3) Does it require signing in? Will we be using it often enough to merit creating a login? How will lost passwords be recovered?

4) Is this appropriate for all my students? If not, who is it good for? For what purpose?

5) Will this be used in class, at home, or both?

6) Do I want to use the projector to show the website to the class or encourage them to explore on their own?

7) If we're using this together in class, is it worth the time it takes to get everyone to the right page and reading/viewing/doing?

8) If I'm recommending this for home study, is it easy enough to figure out that students won't get lost or frustrated? Is the URL easy to remember? How can I make sure they have access to it?

9) Will students access the site alone or in pairs? Does the site encourage interaction?

10) Is it clear to the students how this fits with the lesson?

11) What will I do to support my students with limited computer skills? with limited reading skills? who are English language learners? who missed the last two classes?

12) When I first accessed the site, what did I have to get used to? How easy was it to find what I wanted? What are likely pitfalls and misunderstandings?

Rachel,

I love every one of your questions. I am going to recommend them -- as a checklist -- to every adult education teacher who is using a new website, piece of education software, tool, or app. Thanks so much.

What other questions do you/we have?  Do any of the questions posted so far suggest other questions? Oh, and don't worry about duplication of questions. We can sort that out later.

David J. Rosen, Moderator

Integrating Technology group

Great discussion! I've been wondering this myself. I attended a webinar on the SAMR model and how it relates to technology questions we should be asking. The goal is to select tech that falls into the transformation parts of the model: modification and redefinition (*see below). The presentation also suggests questions to ask associated with each part of SAMR. Enjoy!

(S) Substitution - What will I gain by replacing the task with new technology? (ex. reading an ebook vs. a physical printed book)
(A) Augmentation - Does the tech add new features that improve the task? (ex. curating resources, researching multiple sources via video/text/audio)
*(M) Modification - Does the task significantly change with the use of tech? (ex. read-along ebooks, annotations in a digital text)
*(R) Redefinition - Does the tech allow for creation of a new task previously inconceivable? (ex. creating a video, collaborating on same document)

Hi Alecia, Glad you shared the SAMR model. I think it's helpful. And I think it's also important to add to it the question: What will I LOSE (not just gain) by replacing the task with new technology? I haven't watched the webinar. Do you feel like they covered that? It could be covered under M.  Best, Alison