Recently I have heard teachers say, "It doesn't matter if we have technology or not, my students still don't care." - and I agree, the technology doesn't matter – but relevance does!
In education, the term relevance typically refers to learning experiences that are either directly applicable to the personal aspirations, interests, or cultural experiences of students (personal relevance) or that are connected in some way to real-world issues, problems, and contexts (life relevance). Source: edglossary.org/relevance/
New technology, while wonderful, is temporary. If you are counting on a device to supply engagement, you are selling yourself and your students short. Device technology isn't the thing – good pedagogy and relevance is!
So, how do we go about attracting and keeping the attention of our students as we design to bridge the blended learning gap?
First, while I am a big proponent of backward design and the power of the "enduring understanding," I understand that we can't get there without a hook. Just like the short riff or phrase at the beginning of a song that keeps you from changing the station, our lessons need something that signals to our students that this is new, different or worth hanging around for.
Breakout.edu
Breakouts (modeled after Escape Room experiences) offer an engaging classroom version of the Escape Room experience in which students work through a series of content related problems to get to a prize locked in a box with multiple locks. The scenarios turn learning on its head and students are asking questions of the teacher that they never would have asked in a traditional setting because they "want to get into that box."
In my experiences working with teachers using Breakouts I have witnessed: improved questioning strategies, vigorous rounds of trial and error, team work, communication, perseverance, applying past knowledge, managing impulsivity, and the stigma of failure in front of others melt away-all while pursuing an academic task. In short, the Habits of Mind were well represented!
Don't worry about students possessing all the requisite skills to complete a difficult task – give them the task and they will seek out the requisite skills. They will ask each other, they will ask you or they will figure it out. It's a win, win, win!
Pirate Hooks
Dave Burgess of Teach Like A Pirate fame offers a great resource for teacher's trying to find that illusive experience to "hook" their students into learning. Teach Like A Pirate Hooks offers seven categories of hooks, each with multiple examples to get your students prepared, active and engaged in the learning process. Warning: It may require you to make a fool of yourself on occasion, but you will be a fool for engaged learning!
Old Fashioned
Finally, these relevance and engagement strategies don't have to be new. I love starting the school year with some "Orchestrated Chaos" by placing students in a real-world simulation on the first day of school. While the rest of my colleagues were handing out books and covering "the rules and procedures," I was handing out envelopes to my students containing items that made our classroom represent the world in terms of education, hunger, homelessness, and wealth. From day one, while sitting on the floor and watching others eat and count money, they knew this class was going to be different – and guess whose classroom they talked about at home on that first night.
Do you have a special talent that you can share with your students? I played my guitar and sang a song for my students. The song was content related and I let them know upfront that we would be singing the song again soon, only they would be writing new lyrics and singing based on what they had learned. The dread was palpable – but the message was clear and they never disappointed.
As we travel this path of digital learning design, there will always be remnants of the past, but we cannot cling to the past with so many possibilities in front of us. The resources of the world are already available to our students and we have a major role in making those resources accessible and teaching students how to construct their own learning with those resources. Whether the setting is traditional, technological, blended, or well worn – it will still need a hook!
Reaching the world from your classroom with Skype Master Teachers
Jed Dearybury’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrdearybury1Jed’s website: http://mrdearybury.comDyane Smokorowski’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrs_smoke
A Facebook group with ideas for K-12 teachers: https://www.facebook.com/edtechk12/Gina Ruffcorn’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/gruffcorn13Gina’s class Twitter account: http://twitter.com/MsRsfunkyfivesSkype Education website: http://education.skype.com
A Facebook group with ideas for K-12 teachers: https://www.facebook.com/edtechk12/Gina Ruffcorn’s Twitter: http://twitter.com/gruffcorn13Gina’s class Twitter account: http://twitter.com/MsRsfunkyfivesSkype Education website: http://education.skype.com
About these Skype Master Teachers
Jed Dearybury (Spartanburg, South Carolina), Gina Ruffcorn (Mondamin, Iowa) and Dyane Smokorowski (Andover, Kansas)
Jed Dearybury taught first, second and third grades for 13 years in South Carolina. Mr. D, as the students called him, brought his love of music and the arts into every lesson he taught. He’s been named Spartanburg District 6 Teacher of the Year and one of the Top 5 Teachers in South Carolina. That same year, he was received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, which earned him a trip to The White House to meet President Obama and was named a GQ Magazine Male Leader of the Year. He is now the Director of Professional Development and Communications for the Palmetto State Teachers Association, taking arts-infused, technology-filled, inquiry-based lessons to schools across his state.
Gina Ruffcorn teaches fifth grade at West Harrison Elementary School in Mondamin, Iowa. As a Skype Master Teacher, she is proud to bring the world to her students in a small, rural town where the nearest city is one hour away. Gina is a technology integrationist in her district, a Skype in the Classroom Guide and a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. Her students have conducted hundreds of Skype calls in the classroom, from virtual field trips to Mystery Skype games to hosting virtual guest speakers. Gina was named a GoNoodle Ambassador and a PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovator.
Dyane Smokorowski has taught middle school language arts in Kansas for 16 years. Her project-based classroom focuses on critical thinking, communication, global collaboration and creativity while encompassing digital citizenship components. Mrs. Smoke, as her students know her, believes in a true 21st century classroom that fosters skills in communication, planning, research and service learning. She was named 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year and a Top 20 to Watch Educational Technology Leader from the National School Boards Association.
