More than Words... Applying What I Learned in Enhancing Learning Materials Through Technology

Pick a cliche, "Put up or shut up," "Actions speak louder than words," "Walk the walk," "Put your money where your mouth is," "Do or do not, there is no try." OK, that last one may just be an antiquated Star Wars reference, but you get the idea. After five weeks of studying ways to integrate technology to enhance proven learning strategies, it was finally time to apply that conceptual knowledge to evaluate and improve an actual class lesson. This was a daunting task for someone like myself who has never developed a classroom lesson plan before, let alone a good one that incorporates sound learning theory supported by technology. However, emboldened by the support of my small group members, I felt I was up for the challenge.

I used the only lesson-type presentation I have developed myself - an orientation session for students participating in the Test Drive iQ Academy program. You can view my presentation at https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AbU9x8j6YWIgZGQyNnpxbTRfMThjNHg1NWh0&hl=en&authkey=CJCBu3M

So what did I learn from this exercise? Quite a lot actually. Throughout this class we have demonstrated that incorporating technology to support proven learning strategies can greatly enhance student achievement. To that end, this should be happening for every lesson in every classroom in America. What I found out is that enhancing learning materials through technology is really not all that difficult - at least in theory. If I can do it, anyone can. The realities of classroom practice may present some additional challenges, but the effort required to overcome those challenges is certainly worthwhile.

Related to that point is the realization that many teachers could do the same thing to their lessons if they knew how, which brings me to the real revelation I experienced by taking this class - that I want to help facilitate this transformation. I will start with the teachers at my school. I may have to spend some time in the classroom (physical or virtual) myself to fully comprehend the situation. But somehow, some way I want to help bring the American education system kicking and screaming into the 21st century. To do anything less would be a disservice to the next generation.

This class has really motivated me to do some more research and study of technology enhanced learning. A recent federal government report on technology in education points out that, "The challenge for our education system is to leverage the learning sciences and  modern technology to create energizing, relevant, and personalized learning experiences for all learners that mirror students’ daily lives and the reality of their futures.” One really interesting concept I came across was the "flipped classroom" (see http://youtu.be/2H4RkudFzlc). The concept is simply that the teacher assigns the traditional lecture as homework and has the student do homework (or projects, or group work) during class time. The lectures are presented as podcasts that student can watch online or on a mobile device. The benefit is that the teacher can spend more time working with students individually and the students are more engaged.

Another fascinating example is the Kahn Academy which the founder explains in Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education Video on TED.com. He basically created thousands of free videos that explain individual lessons in math, science, economics and various other subjects. Then he developed a self paced, interactive program to teach the concepts online. If a student gets stuck, they link to the respective video for help. When they master 10 questions about the topic in a row, they can move on the the next one.

Both of these revolutionary ideas were developed within the past 5 years and made possible by technology. Imagine what we will be able to do 10 years from now? I want to be a part of that.