Every semester, I am surprised by the number of students that come with IPads or tablets and use them for note taking. I do not know why I am surprised because this is the age of technology, and many students come from families that can afford to buy them. Even as I write this last sentence, I realize that I am just aging myself because many people have no problem spending what they earn on upgraded technology.
The majority still use the computers in the classroom, and when we do formal assessments, I require them to use the school computers because I can use Net Support as I mentioned in the discussion this week.
When I began teaching at the city colleges in 2006, I went through tenure. Because we are a teaching institution, tenure is about creating something for the community of learners, not about research necessarily. My tenure project was to create studio classrooms in which tables are arranged in pods of four and each student has a computer integrated in the desk. There are a number of laptop carts that are available to students at the college as well, yet the studio classrooms proved to be a better solution.
This assessment can be done easily with smartphones. At this point, what cannot be done with a smartphone? Students can use iMovie, and Android users can use various apps for the Android devices/ Students can also use WhatsApp and Messenger to create and send videos. Students can use basic recording devices on their phone to interview students.
I have done assignments in the past where students develop a question, interview their classmates, and then create a podcast that summarizes their responses and talks about the themes and lessons from the interviews. When students are not in class, they can send voice recordings to each other via WhatsApp.
Digital storytelling is an excellent tool for so many things in the classroom. In the beginning of the semester, students can create short videos to introduce themselves to each other, especially if they are in online asynchronous classes. Students can also use digital storytelling for reflections and discussion board posts. In a Speech Communication course I took a few years ago, the professor required students to create a digital story to start our discussion post each week.
Module 7 Objectives:
- Explain the educational benefits and challenges of social media.
- Integrate social media into a flipped classroom model.
- Integrate digital tools for the collaboration modality.
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