Technology Tips from a Kentucky Teacher

In this Teacher article, high-school teacher Paul Barnwell offers recommendations on the use (and misuse) of technology in classrooms:

• Do teach students basic photo-composition rules and simple editing to capture and set up their own images and create authentic digital stories and presentations. Possible programs include Animoto, iMovie, and Photostory.

• Don’t allow students to rely heavily on Google image searches and other copy-and-paste tools for presentations. Students should have to do some creative problem-solving.

• Do use Google Drive, a cloud-based service that is a reliable way for students to back up their work.

• Don’t allow students to use forgetting their flash drive as an excuse for not having their work; it should be up there in Google Drive.

• Do use low-tech note cards for exit tickets, four-corner discussion, and other quick checks for understanding.

• Don’t use online polling or other digital tools for quick checks for understanding. “Sometimes paper or verbal communication should trump the allure of using technology,” says Barnwell. 

• Do promote fluency, discussion, and presentation skills by having students use their cell phones or flip video cameras to record conversations, narratives, speeches, and other class assignments.

• Don’t rely so heavily on technology tools that speaking and listening skills atrophy. “Don’t over-use fragmented, text-based digital communication when you can use the same tools to enhance and critique more ‘traditional’ skills relating to extended writing pieces, interviewing, and speaking,” says Barnwell.

• Do encourage students to make phone calls when researching information or contacting sources outside the classroom. This is good practice for verbal communication skills – something many students need.

• Don’t let students rely on texting and e-mail when gathering information; it’s inefficient and misses important dimensions of interviews and observations.

• Do use Jing and other screen-capture video software to model complicated instructions.

• Don’t expect students to remember multi-step instructions with new software, apps, or programs. Jing is far more efficient.

“The Time-Tested Dos and Don’ts of Using Classroom Technology” by Paul Barnwell in Teacher, Feb. 12, 2013, http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/02/11/tln_barnwell_classroomtech.html

From the Marshall Memo #473