Effective Learning Options Using Digital Technologies
Cathie Lamont Makaroff
EDPL 584 Assignment 1.
Digital technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to present information in a variety of formats, be it through text, audio, images, video and often, interaction with all of the above.
With the UDL principals of systemic variability in learning, there is recognition that all learners have different ways of best engaging with, receiving and presenting information-and when one has access to the massive web of digital media and tools, one’s repertoire is massively enhanced.
To give a simple example, I once was teaching about classification of animals to a grade 2 class, and we had arrived at the reptile subgroup. The students didn’t have a lot of exposure to reptiles in their real worlds, many had never seen any. We went through the various categories of what differentiates these animals into their class-number of legs, skin type, birth method etc, and then, we came to that one thing that distinguishes reptiles -the fact that they completely shed their skin. This piece of information given orally, or written, or even pictorially in a book, would be only mildly interesting. But, using our smart board, and the ease of YouTube a short, close up video of reptiles shedding their skin had the students gasping and exclaiming aloud. And, I was able to send that link home so that the kids could share it with their families, and re-teach the concepts that they’d just learned. They’d have been unlikely to go home and regurgitate the information without that digital piece as a catalyst. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmCflSFk4t0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsVzSdij6AA
I was then able to follow up with email responses from parents as to whether their child seemed to have been able to convey the information about classifying the reptiles. Thus, in this case, the learners were engaged by, and had the information represented to them digitally and orally. They were able to express their knowledge at home orally and I was able to follow up on that demonstration of knowledge via email.
Beyond this rather basic use of digital technology that is not specific to education, the current technological ability to by-pass text, whether reading or writing is a huge boon to those who struggle with a print disability. Google Read & Write offers a door into the world of text formerly closed to many learners. A student with print challenges can read along with the text, reinforcing word patterns correctly, all the while more readily accessing the information that used to be shrouded in a code that was problematic to them.
The process of writing itself has become a supported endeavor with digital helps such as Word and other writing programs that will track errors, offer suggestions and can be programmed to pick up frequent errors that are specific to an individual learner. Also, simply the process of typing, hitting a key, as opposed to struggling with letter formation revolutionizes the task of writing for some. While typewriters existed in the past, the ability to correct was arduous, and expertise was needed to use them well.
Tablets and I pads with their multiplicity of apps and games that use images, symbols and interactive creative tools bring a new level of engagement to the fore. Often, the tools therein allow students to set goals and track progress themselves, which helps with engagement and tracking achievement. Also fundamental to this access to educational technology is the UDL concept related to mastery of learning as opposed to mastery of knowledge. Being able to find information easily and in an engaging manner coupled with teaching on how to filter and evaluate it-then incorporate it as knowledge is a laudable means to this end.
Effective Learning Options Using Digital Technologies
Cathie Lamont Makaroff
EDPL 584 Assignment 1.
Digital technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to present information in a variety of formats, be it through text, audio, images, video and often, interaction with all of the above.
With the UDL principals of systemic variability in learning, there is recognition that all learners have different ways of best engaging with, receiving and presenting information-and when one has access to the massive web of digital media and tools, one’s repertoire is massively enhanced.
To give a simple example, I once was teaching about classification of animals to a grade 2 class, and we had arrived at the reptile subgroup. The students didn’t have a lot of exposure to reptiles in their real worlds, many had never seen any. We went through the various categories of what differentiates these animals into their class-number of legs, skin type, birth method etc, and then, we came to that one thing that distinguishes reptiles -the fact that they completely shed their skin. This piece of information given orally, or written, or even pictorially in a book, would be only mildly interesting. But, using our smart board, and the ease of YouTube a short, close up video of reptiles shedding their skin had the students gasping and exclaiming aloud. And, I was able to send that link home so that the kids could share it with their families, and re-teach the concepts that they’d just learned. They’d have been unlikely to go home and regurgitate the information without that digital piece as a catalyst. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmCflSFk4t0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsVzSdij6AA
I was then able to follow up with email responses from parents as to whether their child seemed to have been able to convey the information about classifying the reptiles. Thus, in this case, the learners were engaged by, and had the information represented to them digitally and orally. They were able to express their knowledge at home orally and I was able to follow up on that demonstration of knowledge via email.
Beyond this rather basic use of digital technology that is not specific to education, the current technological ability to by-pass text, whether reading or writing is a huge boon to those who struggle with a print disability. Google Read & Write offers a door into the world of text formerly closed to many learners. A student with print challenges can read along with the text, reinforcing word patterns correctly, all the while more readily accessing the information that used to be shrouded in a code that was problematic to them.
The process of writing itself has become a supported endeavor with digital helps such as Word and other writing programs that will track errors, offer suggestions and can be programmed to pick up frequent errors that are specific to an individual learner. Also, simply the process of typing, hitting a key, as opposed to struggling with letter formation revolutionizes the task of writing for some. While typewriters existed in the past, the ability to correct was arduous, and expertise was needed to use them well.
Tablets and I pads with their multiplicity of apps and games that use images, symbols and interactive creative tools bring a new level of engagement to the fore. Often, the tools therein allow students to set goals and track progress themselves, which helps with engagement and tracking achievement. Also fundamental to this access to educational technology is the UDL concept related to mastery of learning as opposed to mastery of knowledge. Being able to find information easily and in an engaging manner coupled with teaching on how to filter and evaluate it-then incorporate it as knowledge is a laudable means to this end.