One of the first points the article discusses is the
important use of the internet in the classroom, particularly if the textbook is
outdated. Students hearing the use of vocabulary in context via an online video
or animation helps students to both understand the meaning and concept much
easier than if merely reading in a textbook. The article discusses that
students not only understood material easier but were able to functionally use
high-level terms and vocabulary that they otherwise would not have been able to
use nearly as quickly under regular circumstances. Then, students are asked to
share helpful websites with each other as they are doing online activities,
making it a more active experience that allows them to cogitate on the material
more than silent reading.
A second point discusses the use of video podcasts in the
classroom. The author discusses having her students record video lesson reviews
to post up on the class website. These can be accessed easily, allowing for
students who have missed class for whatever reason to access them to stay
caught up. It’s also a much more fun experience since they are being taught by
peers rather than by the teacher.
A third point discusses motivation and how students need
more social interaction. Many students these days lose that physical social
interaction due to constantly being on computers or video games, even with
technology-based lessons. However, using presentation technology, students are
more likely to do research to build their presentations, as they want them to
be as good and entertaining as they can for their peers. Presentations become
fun, and students become motivated and engaged.
One way to incorporate technology into instruction is the
dramatized podcast. Podcasts dramas (or serials) are becoming quite popular
these days, harkening back to the days of radio serials. In an
English/Literature classroom, students could write out scripts that serialize
fiction into a podcast drama. For example, a class focusing on Romeo and Juliet
could tell the entire story as a news report podcast, or another class might
take an Edgar Allan Poe short story and do a dramatic reading and add music and
sound effects to the background.
Another way of incorporating technology into instruction is
to use organizational tools such as Timeglider to help fully understand the
flow or connections of a story or time period. For example, Timeglider could be
used in a history class for students to understand the timeline of a time
period; it can also be used in an English class for students to document the
timeline of a story and its sequence of events. This would be especially useful
in a story like The Odyssey, where
many events happen over the course of many years.
References
Boles, S.R. (2011). Using
technology in the classroom. Science
Scope, 34(9), 39-43.
