“Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
I have had a change of heart this year. I began to question the hype about teaching students 21st century skills, especially when my students are lacking basic skills and they are resistive to change. Yes, I realize that for the past year and half I've been deeply engaged in learning about the benefits of technology in education, and indeed for my own learning experience, technology was a great tool for learning, collaborating, creating and sharing. Don’t get me wrong, it worked for me, but it really is not for everyone. I had been working on the premise that educators cannot continue to "treat technology as their auxiliary," but they must begin to see it as a place "where culture itself is developing in the 21st century" (Blake-Plock, S., as cited in Bernard, S., 2014), and I was so convinced that it would be the perfect fit for my students. Blended learning and BYOD became my mantra for one of my face-to-face courses, and I was certain that technology would be a transformative learning experience for these students.
Like all teachers, I put a lot of time and energy into planning an [online] course. I created presentations, used relevant video, added discussion boards, online quizzes, and utilized a variety of online resources and presentation tools, in an effort to pull together authentic, and contemporary themed lessons. It was exhausting, but I loved the process, and I had great expectations. Sure, I am fully aware that technology does not drive the learning. It is not necessarily about the device or technology tool, but the fact that learning is more influenced by pedagogy, or how we use the device.
Gamification got me thinking again about pedagogy. Online gaming is emerging as a potential immersion tool for learning and engaging with content. I’ll leave gaming in the classroom to the gamers--it is not my interest area, but what I did find interesting were the parallels of game design to design for learning. In fact, from the work of Paul James Gee (2013) I was able to glean a few key takeaways about the fundamentals of learning within game design, and Gee’s (2013) principles of game design made sense from a pedagogical standpoint. Gee (2013) envisions the principles of game design as means to creating learning opportunities that lead to deep learning, much like the creators of online games keep gamers coming back for more. Good educational practice must engage, support, scaffold, empower and inspire learners.
Empowering learners to learn deeply does not happen unless, “…learners make an extended commitment” (Gee, 2013) to ask themselves: Why am I doing this? Is it meaningful? Who am I going to become? In turn, John Sheely Brown (2010) asks, “How do you get kids to have curiosity and a questioning disposition…a gaming disposition?” Much like any game, learners must feel committed to what they are doing, and motivated to keep on going. This is “...the real intersection between the curriculum and the learner’s interests, desires, and styles” (Gee, 2007). I’ll admit that this may have been the one aspect that escaped me during my own course planning process.
The success of using technology in the classroom really depends on the student’s motivation to learn new technology. We assume that because our students love their smartphones, and social media, that it is a given that they will be keen adopters of technology. This is not always the case. My colleague, Shelley Beleznay (2014) wrote about the challenges of educating students in a recent blog: “If you get the strategy right but tactics wrong...you can remedy the tactics and succeed. If you get the wrong strategy, you can refine forever, but still lose...What would happen, I wonder, if we put all our time, resources and energy into the game that matters? What if teachers weren't distracted and exhausted by all the noise of change while they focused on their classroom needs?” I came to this conclusion before reading Shelley’s eloquent blog. My students don’t want to create websites, write blogs, and create online presentations. When asked, they prefer to create posters, pamphlets, and collages. I was absolutely stunned by this revelation, only because I prefer to use technology, and I am not a digital native.
This “...growing sense schooling is falling out of step with today’s youth” (Canadian Education Association, as cited in Education Alberta, 2011) may be misguided thinking. In an effort to ready learners for the 21st century, “...education leaders in university think tanks, ministry boardrooms and district offices may have lost sight of the goal of the game in the noise of initiatives...teachers haven’t. They go to work each day, no matter what goes on around them, despite cut-backs in resources, new demands or changing policies, to do their best to coach a diverse group of students to do their best each day” (Beleznay, 2014). I know that gamification is not for me, so is it fair to expect my students to engage with technology when they are outwardly rejecting it? Rather than assuming our students are ready and willing to change, perhaps it is time to ask students what they want, how they want to learn, rather than forcing change on them.
"Teaching is not about the technology, but the teacher”
(Bill Gates)
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
I have had a change of heart this year. I began to question the hype about teaching students 21st century skills, especially when my students are lacking basic skills and they are resistive to change. Yes, I realize that for the past year and half I've been deeply engaged in learning about the benefits of technology in education, and indeed for my own learning experience, technology was a great tool for learning, collaborating, creating and sharing. Don’t get me wrong, it worked for me, but it really is not for everyone. I had been working on the premise that educators cannot continue to "treat technology as their auxiliary," but they must begin to see it as a place "where culture itself is developing in the 21st century" (Blake-Plock, S., as cited in Bernard, S., 2014), and I was so convinced that it would be the perfect fit for my students. Blended learning and BYOD became my mantra for one of my face-to-face courses, and I was certain that technology would be a transformative learning experience for these students.
Like all teachers, I put a lot of time and energy into planning an [online] course. I created presentations, used relevant video, added discussion boards, online quizzes, and utilized a variety of online resources and presentation tools, in an effort to pull together authentic, and contemporary themed lessons. It was exhausting, but I loved the process, and I had great expectations. Sure, I am fully aware that technology does not drive the learning. It is not necessarily about the device or technology tool, but the fact that learning is more influenced by pedagogy, or how we use the device.
Gamification got me thinking again about pedagogy. Online gaming is emerging as a potential immersion tool for learning and engaging with content. I’ll leave gaming in the classroom to the gamers--it is not my interest area, but what I did find interesting were the parallels of game design to design for learning. In fact, from the work of Paul James Gee (2013) I was able to glean a few key takeaways about the fundamentals of learning within game design, and Gee’s (2013) principles of game design made sense from a pedagogical standpoint. Gee (2013) envisions the principles of game design as means to creating learning opportunities that lead to deep learning, much like the creators of online games keep gamers coming back for more. Good educational practice must engage, support, scaffold, empower and inspire learners.
Empowering learners to learn deeply does not happen unless, “…learners make an extended commitment” (Gee, 2013) to ask themselves: Why am I doing this? Is it meaningful? Who am I going to become? In turn, John Sheely Brown (2010) asks, “How do you get kids to have curiosity and a questioning disposition…a gaming disposition?” Much like any game, learners must feel committed to what they are doing, and motivated to keep on going. This is “...the real intersection between the curriculum and the learner’s interests, desires, and styles” (Gee, 2007). I’ll admit that this may have been the one aspect that escaped me during my own course planning process.
The success of using technology in the classroom really depends on the student’s motivation to learn new technology. We assume that because our students love their smartphones, and social media, that it is a given that they will be keen adopters of technology. This is not always the case. My colleague, Shelley Beleznay (2014) wrote about the challenges of educating students in a recent blog: “If you get the strategy right but tactics wrong...you can remedy the tactics and succeed. If you get the wrong strategy, you can refine forever, but still lose...What would happen, I wonder, if we put all our time, resources and energy into the game that matters? What if teachers weren't distracted and exhausted by all the noise of change while they focused on their classroom needs?” I came to this conclusion before reading Shelley’s eloquent blog. My students don’t want to create websites, write blogs, and create online presentations. When asked, they prefer to create posters, pamphlets, and collages. I was absolutely stunned by this revelation, only because I prefer to use technology, and I am not a digital native.
This “...growing sense schooling is falling out of step with today’s youth” (Canadian Education Association, as cited in Education Alberta, 2011) may be misguided thinking. In an effort to ready learners for the 21st century, “...education leaders in university think tanks, ministry boardrooms and district offices may have lost sight of the goal of the game in the noise of initiatives...teachers haven’t. They go to work each day, no matter what goes on around them, despite cut-backs in resources, new demands or changing policies, to do their best to coach a diverse group of students to do their best each day” (Beleznay, 2014). I know that gamification is not for me, so is it fair to expect my students to engage with technology when they are outwardly rejecting it? Rather than assuming our students are ready and willing to change, perhaps it is time to ask students what they want, how they want to learn, rather than forcing change on them.
"Teaching is not about the technology, but the teacher”
(Bill Gates)
Works Cited
Beleznay, S. (2014). A Dream Team for Education. Retrieved from Working Together: http://workingtogether68.blogspot.ca/2014_02_01_archive.html
Education Alberta. (2011). iPads: What are we learning? Summary report of provincial data gathering day. Retrieved from education.alberta.ca: http://education.alberta.ca/media/6684652/ipad%20report%20-%20final%20version%202012-03-20.pdf
Gee, P. (2007). Good Video Games and Good Learning. Retrieved from academiccolab.org: http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf
Gee, P. (2013). Jim Gee Principles on Gaming. Retrieved from Youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQAgAjTozk
Image: http://www.genie-connect.com/system/redactor_assets/pictures/122/gamification_image_for_blog.gif
Beleznay, S. (2014). A Dream Team for Education. Retrieved from Working Together: http://workingtogether68.blogspot.ca/2014_02_01_archive.html
Education Alberta. (2011). iPads: What are we learning? Summary report of provincial data gathering day. Retrieved from education.alberta.ca: http://education.alberta.ca/media/6684652/ipad%20report%20-%20final%20version%202012-03-20.pdf
Gee, P. (2007). Good Video Games and Good Learning. Retrieved from academiccolab.org: http://www.academiccolab.org/resources/documents/Good_Learning.pdf
Gee, P. (2013). Jim Gee Principles on Gaming. Retrieved from Youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aQAgAjTozk
Image: http://www.genie-connect.com/system/redactor_assets/pictures/122/gamification_image_for_blog.gif