“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” ~ G.K. Chesterton
It would be a difficult task, at this point in time, to find people who do not interact with technology in some form on a regular basis. Technology has imprinted itself upon society in a multitude of forms. Digital communication (email, text messaging, etc.), social media, search engines, and other web-based resources allow people to constantly interact and collaborate with others. Trends in education tend to follow the lead of society, and the influence of technology is no exception.
An important area in which the influence of technology in education can be seen is in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). 45 states have adopted the CCSS. “The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.”(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) Rather than having a separate set of standards that address technology, the CCSS have blended technology use into other content areas, especially the English language arts. Students as young as kindergarten are expected to be able to use technology to collaborate with their peers. As they progress through their education, the focus of collaboration shifts outside of the classroom and on to more expansive web-based objectives. It is important that educators provide meaningful opportunities for students to collaborate with one another.
The 2010 National Education Technology Plan also explains the need for the use of platforms such as wikis and blogs for the purpose of collaboration in the Executive Summary. “For students, using these real-world tools creates learning opportunities that allow them to grapple with real-world problems—opportunities that prepare them to be more productive members of a globally competitive workforce.” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010, p. 9) It is important for educators to embrace the “21st century competencies” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010, p. 9) being used in real-life situations to allow students to become “expert learners” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010, p. 9).
There are many platforms that support student collaboration through the use of technology. Blogs allow for students to post their thoughts and respond to content that is covered in class. Students can read the blogs of others and post comments on their perceptions of what they read. Twitter is also a useful communication platform for students to share their ideas and respond to the ideas of others. Wikis allow for multiple students, or even classrooms, to contribute information regarding a particular topic on a collaborative basis. Students can then revise and edit material as necessary to meet learning objectives. Another platform that supports student collaboration is Google Docs. In this application, students can simultaneously work on a project using the program’s document, presentation, or even spreadsheet function. All of these methods of collaboration help to build the skills that students need to succeed.
Links to examples of these platforms in action:
Blogging: A high school English teacher teaching in a STEM school in New Jersey sees greater benefits to blogging in the classroom than she had anticipated beforehand.
Twitter: Eighth grade students in an East Los Angeles school contribute to class discussions using Twitter, and in the process even the most reserved students find a voice.
Wiki: A Pennsylvania biology teacher uses a wiki to revitalize her classroom environment.
References:
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School
U.S. Department of Education. (2010). National education technology plan 2010 executive
summary. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010
Kim,
ReplyDeleteTechnology is amazing and provides students with so many more opportunities than those of many years past. I especially liked how you brought attention to the importance of student collaboration. In a sense, technology makes collaboration much less complicated than it has been previously. Students have the opportunity to work with their peers globally. This did not happen regularly twenty, thirty years ago. How times have changed!
Catherine