Technology- Week 8
Technology
Technology is advancing daily and it is becoming vital to incorporate it into the agricultural classrooms. In my Agriculture Science classes are currently in the Wildlife Unit. This unit I have designed based on technology. The first assignment my students were given a task to create a google presentation on one Pennsylvania mammal and one Pennsylvania bird, and share the presentation to my google drive account. I imagined this task would take one 43 min class period or less. However, that was just my imagination. The technological skills that I imagined my students would have seemed to be lacking. I assumed if my students could run a cell phone they could process information on google or a website.
My students and I are considered to be Generation Z. Generation Z is ten times more likely to received a smart phone at the age of 13. This stands true because all but three of my freshman (age 14-15) have a smartphone, and I received a cell phone when I was 12 years old. Generation Z is said to be visual communicators, spending more than 4 hours a day on their smartphone. Visual communication includes social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. This generation is more connected to world than any other generation has ever been. But, I question if they are really just more connected to their cell phone?
My assumption caused me confusion because my assignment was not as simple for the students that I thought it would be. Part of the final project for this unit is to create a video ad of an ultimate predator using movie maker or other programs on the desktop computers. My challenge is now to think of ways for technology to focus on developing higher order of thinking and meta-cognition for my students. Do I do this by creating more time on technology instruction? Or do I do this by providing a step by step guideline on working with different technologies like movie maker?
Heather,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts! There would be two suggestions I have for you going forward:
1) Review your Clarity of Expectations: Do the students know the expectations? Have they seen an "Exemplar"? where they provided a rubric?
2) Increase Formative Assessments: Do you have "steps" that all students should reach by a certain point? Could you increase formative assessments to be able to say - In 15 minutes, you will need to show me you are at stage X? Younger learners often need more structure to stay on task. Remember - Regardless of activity, attention span is still about 12 minutes.
Heather, kudos to you for embracing technology and challenging yourself and your students with incorporating it into the classroom in different ways! Instructional videos that students can watch at home (think flipped classroom) on how to use the different types of technology helps keep time in the classroom more productive, as does having the students who are proficient teach their peers. Incorporating new technology can be difficult at first, but will pay off in the end.
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