(Photo courtesy of
jchetan, Creative Commons on Flickr)
I have had the privilege of meeting several educators both in person and online over the past two years who are passionate about using technology in the classroom. I also am very pro-technology as you might have already guessed from my blog posts.
However, I'd like to take some time to add my views around using tools other than those we find on computers and the internet. I really think there is a place for pencils and paper, library books, and other "non-tech" tools. It often is a question of whether the tool fits the task but also at times based on student preferences. One would be amazed by how some students do still prefer low-tech tools in some cases.
I recall assigning an energy project in Science to students and giving them the opportunity to present their information in any format and using any tool(s) they wished. Some students produced poster boards detailed with illustrations they created. Some chose to create a power point presentation while others had opted to create a video using iMovie. One of my students asked me to provide her with plasticine to sculpt her windmill for her wind energy project. Another student asked to create an electric circuit and demonstrate it to students. My only requirement was that no matter how they presented their knowledge, they had to demonstrate a clear understanding of their energy topic based upon some general guiding questions I provided at the start of the project.
Had I made all of them present their knowledge using iMovie or only using poster boards, I would have really limited their creative potentials and would not have had the benefit of enjoying the multitude of ways they were able to successfully present their information. The student who sculpted a windmill, for example, always enjoyed fine arts and had an incredible talent in this area. The student who chose to create an electric circuit loved to "tinker" with things and found greater success in developing an understanding of things by going through the trial and error process.
Upon reflecting on this experience, I also realized that the students in my classroom were at a far greater advantage in seeing the many ways one can express understanding of something and that in doing so, some were more inspired to try out other tools for future projects. One student who had traditionally always preferred the written report method of presenting and going to the library to research books, had his curiosity and enthusiasm peaked when he first saw an iMovie presentation about nuclear energy. He later chose to use this tool for his Ancient Civilization project. His mother was so surprised by this revelation that she asked to come and watch his presentation in class.
In my opinion, there is no one right way of representing knowledge and it is a questions of individual preferences. Having said that, I also do support exposing students to a variety of experiences so that they are not inhibited in any way. For example, when I first introduced iMovie to students, I expected they all work with it and encouraged my students to teach each other how to use this tool. I did not, however, make paper-based projects as compulsory because I realized my students had in the past already had plenty of such experiences. Nonetheless, I did allow a place for such tools and found this to be beneficial for my students in the long-term.
