Using Technology to Meet the Needs of a Multi-level Classroom

1. Using Technology to Meet the Needs of a Multi-level Classroom Todd W. Jorns Senior Director for Educational Technology Illinois Community College Board

2. Multi-level Classroom Deliberately-formed multilevel classes are created based on these assumptions: • that all human beings have strengths as well as challenges; • that all have something to contribute to enrich the group’s learning; • that communities are actually strengthened by the diversity of their members.

3. Multi-level Classroom • Working collaboratively across their differences in class helps students to work more effectively with all kinds of people in their day-to-day lives and is an important work skill. • People become increasingly literate and knowledgeable about the world by actively engaging with others, talking, discussing, and sharing their own experiences and perspectives.

4. Multi-level Classroom • Creates a climate where students learn with and from each other. • Breaks down the isolation that many feel upon entering a program/classroom. • Helps participants identify and act on issues that are central to their lives.

5. Multi-level Classroom • Learners may work in small groups or pairs. • At the same skill level or at different levels with the more advanced students taking on a teaching role which helps with learning retention. • Grounds their own learning and develops their leadership skills. • Ensure the process of building community and building basic skills are not in opposition to one another, but complement and enhance each other.

6. Effective Strategies • Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. • Teacher becomes the guide on the side. • Assist students in becoming assertive consumers of their own education. • Provides transferable skills for students to become more active in getting what they need out of a class and life as well.

7. Effective Strategies • The simple use of newsprint may be one of the more effective strategies for working with multilevel groups. • A multilevel group establishes a pattern of talking, posting ideas on newsprint, reflecting on these ideas, and then adding to them. • This collective pad of paper seems to help students improve their literacy skills (wiki).

8. Effective Strategies • Long- term projects allow students to assume responsibility for leadership roles and other tasks. • Students can participate in a variety of ways and all contribute to a unified effort with an actual end result (team work). • Technologies: Newsletters, video projects, or publications of student writings (wikis or blogs).

9. Effective Strategies • Choose movies, TV shows, commercials. • Select materials with a strong narrative, vivid characters, humorous, slapstick and that connect to students own background. • Develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities around the video segment. • Technologies: DVDs, Podcasts & Vodcasts.

10. Effective Strategies • Access to Internet-based resources allow students to find answers to their questions. • Expands learning beyond the boundary of the classroom. • Students use reading, writing, and math skills in real-world settings. • Make meaning out of large amounts of information. Technologies: Electronic field trips & guest lecturers.

11. Effective Strategies • Any skill is learned best when imbedded in content (of interest to the learner and has meaning in the context of that learner’s life). • Learning occurs when it is active, not passive (activities that encourage action, challenges, and interaction with others). • Technology broadens the opportunity for teaching in context and for learning in an active way.

12. Technologies • Paper & Pencil/Pen • Books • Calculators • Computers • Educational Software • Word Processing • Spreadsheets

13. Technologies • Internet (search es, info gathering, etc.) • Email • Electronic field trips/Digital guest lectures • Webinars • Web 2.0 Tools (wikis, blogs, podcasts, etc.) • Videoconferencing (Telepresence)

14. Internet • Information gathering • Fact checking • Communicating (email, IM, etc.) • Socializing & dating • Entertainment & games • Online banking, shopping & greetings • And more…

15. Wikis • A wiki is computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. • Ideal tool for collaborative work done by both students and teachers. • Students collaboratively work on the content of a wiki using only a web browser. • Students can use wikis to collaborate on group reports, compiling data or sharing the results of their project or research.

16. Blogs • Blog is short for Web log. • A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. • A blog is often a mixture of what is happening in a person's life and what is happening on the Web, a kind of hybrid diary/guide site. • There are as many unique types of blogs as there are people.

17. Podcast • (iPOD broadCAST) is an audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer. • The "pod" in podcast was coined from "iPod," the predominant portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may contain music. • Video Podcasts - vodcasts

18. Social Networking Sites • A Web site that provides a virtual community for people interested in a particular subject or just to "hang out" together. • Members communicate by voice, chat, instant message, videoconference and blogs • The "social networking site" is the 21st century term for "virtual community.” • FaceBook, MySpace, Second Life, etc.

19. Benefits of Technology • Increases flexibility for multi-level classroom • Provides access to expertise • Facilitates discussion among learners • Reduces feeling of isolation • Increases learner autonomy • Supports collaborative learning

20. Benefits of Technology • Increases technological literacy • Practice important skills • Learn wonderful things • Engage students • Complement & extend instruction • Should be fun!

21. Think Different! Multi-level Multi-learning Classroom!

22. Questions Todd W. Jorns (217) 785-0144 Todd.Jorns@illinois.gov www.flip4u.org