Integrating Web-Based Tools for Improving Communication, Engagement and Feedback in 1:1 Student-to-Computer Classrooms

1. Integrating Web-Based Tools for Improving Communication, Engagement and Feedback in 1:1 Student-to-Computer Classrooms Jeremy Dickerson Corey Lee Joe Winslow Coastal Carolina University Conway/Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

2. Time and Place Time: Fri, Nov 11 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm Building/Room: Hyatt Regency, Floor Level 3 - City Terrace 10 Concurrent Session

3. Overview This session presents various Web 2.0 technologies integrated with instructional techniques for improving communication, engagement and feedback in 1:1 student-to-computer classrooms such as computer labs.

4. Sub-title “Helping teachers design hybrid lessons.”

5. Today’s learners Today’s learners are often characterized as hypercommunicatingmultitaskerswho pursue multiple goals with multiple tools at the same time (Shelly, Cashman, Gunter, Gunter, 2008).

6. Today’s learners Prensky(2010) and others have suggested that learners are more technologically enhanced and socially connected than ever.

7. Today’s learners Maloy, Verock-O’Loughlin, Edwards and Woolf (2011) used the term “electronic childhood” to refer to the lifetime of electronic media immersion that today’s learners have experienced both before and during their time in school.

8. Do you teach in an Instructional Technology Program? • Who are your students? • business/industry trainers • higher education faculty/staff • K-12 teachers • Does this make a difference?

9. Big Idea Students in instructional technology programs make a difference in course work and curriculum. Teaching college classes about the use of online tools and online learning is interesting, but not always useful for K-12 teachers… Story – EDIT 610 students

10. Today’s teachers While fully online learning usually facilitates and embraces multi-tasking and interacting with others via technology, k-12 teachers in face-to-face classroom settings equipped with computers sometimes struggle to embrace new tools and modern, digital-learner preferences due to problems “blending” or “hybridizing” instruction.

11. Issues Classrooms (like computer labs) often blend a traditional classroom atmosphere with technology at the fingertips of each student, and many students are compelled to surf the Web, check email, Facebook, or attempt to use the computer to multi-task during lectures. Computer lab-based classes and traditional classrooms with mobile laptop carts are very common in K-12 schools and in universities across the United States.

12. Issues One of the most difficult issues in a computer lab or other 1:1 computer enhanced setting is productively engaging students while facilitating communication and reducing off-task behavior.

13. Issues During traditional lesson delivery, sitting and listening to individual teachers “talk to” a class is very difficult for many students - especially when the learner has a computer and the Internet directly in front of them in a computer lab.

14. Issues Students in classes with 1:1 computer ratios (computer labs or laptop carts, mobile phones in some cases) could be interacting with many other people or media sources by multi-tasking with their computer instead of simply sitting and listening to one teacher present information verbally.

15. Issues The presence of computers and network connections for every student very can present a challenge for many instructors who have to compete with technologies such as Facebook while trying to teach class.

16. Issues The concept of “competitive” media is a contemporary instructional issue with computer lab instructional settings.

17. Issues When not technically blocked, students often immediately log into social media sites as a way to not only stimulate and engage themselves with others, but also to augment their input sources while listening to class lectures.

18. Issues While the simple answer is to either use a firewall to block site such as Facebook, or to punish students who insist on using such sites in class, these are often not practical or effective solutions.

19. Issues Teachers who instruct in computer labs or in classrooms with laptops have the opportunity to use computers to create blended, in-class, e-learning contexts for students with Web 2.0 technologies.

20. Issues Instructional methods can be designed to improve student attention, recall of prior learning, interaction, the monitoring of learning, the knowledge discovery and feedbackusing Web 2.0 technologies. Examples include Edmodo, Wallwisher, Polleverywhere, and Pindax.

21. Gagne’s 9 Events of Instruction Gain attention Inform learners of objectives Stimulate recall of prior learning Present the content Provide learning guidance Elicit performance (practice) Provide feedback Assess performance Enhance retention and transfer This is what “most” lessons look like in f2f settings, with computer work as an isolated section of the work (usually the performance/practice area)

24. Let’s take a look

25. Wallwisher Graphical online discussion tool

27. Pindax Graphical online discussion tool

29. Edmodo A social learning network for teachers, students, and parents. Teachers can post grades and assign homework to students. Also includes quizzes (open ended or multiple choice) as well as discussion threads.

31. Poll Everywhere Graphical online discussion tool with mobile phone capabilities

33. Positives Engaging Free Easy to use Accessible Effective No local software needed

34. Problems Advertisement banners and email SPAM Maturity-level of students and site use Policies for use Log-on account management Website functionality

35. Discussion • Edmodo as a “transition” technology for teachers • Facebook • Lack of LMS for schools

36. Direct Links http://www.polleverywhere.com http://www.pindax.com http://www.edmodo.com http://www.wallwisher.com

37. References: Gagne’, R. The Events of Instruction. Maloy, R., Verock-O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., and Woolf, B., (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Pearson: Boston, MA. Prensky, M., (2010). Teaching digital natives. Corwin: Thousand Oaks, CA. Shelly, G., Cashman, T., Gunter, R., Gunter, G., (2008). Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom. Thomson: Boston, MA.