I chuckled to myself when I read the title of Gaetan Pappalardo's blog, "Rugrat-ical Technology: Five Truths of Teaching Tech to Elementary Students." I feel like I'm being exposed to all of this awesome technology through the ed. tech. course I'm taking, but as an elementary teacher, some of the coolest resources I come across seem like they might be too challenging or not appropriate to implement with my little "rugrats."
So, instead of getting bummed out about the fact that my kids only have a 9-year old's technology skill set, I should embrace their newbie-ness and let them "go mess up!" as Gaean, says.
One of the most important points he brings up is that you have to give kids lots of time with a tool before you can expect them to really be able to use it. He frames this as "Time + Exposure = Progress."
This is something that is so important to remember. Very often, even when I felt like I gave the most clear, well-modeled, and organized lesson about how to do something in the computer lab, I often found myself running back and forth between their workstations to kids who have hit some sort of "bump in the road." However, today I had a discussion with my kids about "problem solving" with the computer. We talked about how sometimes, they are going to feel like they're not sure what to do, and that their initial reaction might be to raise their hands and start calling out my name, "Mrs. Mattison...Mrs. Mattison....I don't know what do click on next!" However, I challenged them to try to stop and think through some options before immediately calling me over to fix it. Maybe they could try clicking the back button, or on a different link, or reading the text on the page again, etc. And part of my responsibility will be to make sure they feel comfortable enough to try! I have a feeling that a lot of kids have hesitation about doing something "wrong" with the computer or somehow "breaking it" by clicking on or doing the right thing. But ultimately, they need to get in there, get their "hands dirty" and try to figure some things out! Of course, I'll always be there to support them, but I want them to know that its okay for them to explore a little more, and try to figure out how to solve some of the problems they run into.
I feel the same way! There's so many awesome gadgets out there that would be amazing to have our students experience. Since they're still so young though, they may not be ready.
ReplyDeleteYour strategy of having the students try to problem solve themselves before they ask for help is great. Students need to learn to solve things (or at least try) on their own without so much dependency on a teacher. Especially since in this day and age technology is rapidly advancing. It would not make sense to fully master anything for these kids because it's going to be so completely different by the time they're older. The more important thing is to understand how things work and to know how to problem solve.
I love your thoughts! Will Richardson had an interesting post, challenging trainers during the next PD day to put the latest tool web address on the blackboard, then turn to the teachers and say," You have 45 minutes. Figure it out."
ReplyDeleteGranted. You can't do this with 9 year olds. But problem solving is so important, and it is a skill that should be included in teacher training as well.
I think the challenge is providing the time for this kind of exploration when schedules are so tight. Is it realistic to leave so much to chance when you only get to the computer lab once a week? Would more exposure to technology (perhaps class laptops) increase the possibility of this approach?