Technology Thoughts

Week 4

Technology Thoughts

My lesson plan calls for a combination of traditional pen/paper activities to some newer technologies.  While the concept map could be done online, I’m asking students to brainstorm and make their concept maps with pen and paper.  I don’t want to waste time in a one-shot in having students learn to use a new website or computer program.  Learning to identify the elements of an APA citation is also low-tech, but very kinesthetic, in that students will be given parts of the citation on cardboard and asked to arrange themselves with all of the elements in order.  I think it will help break up all that previous work on the computer.

The worksheet on which students record their research strategies and their assessment of two articles can be done either on paper or through a Google form.  I was planning on the latter just as an easy way to record the results.  Similarly, the citation maps could be on paper, but I think I’ll try using Padlet.  It would provide a way for the class to see all of the maps and more easily discuss the concept of the scholarly conversation.  Finally, since I will be using the flipped-classroom technique to teach how to use two databases, students will be asked to review video tutorials about searching those databases prior to class.

Even though this is a fairly low-tech class, one could argue that traces of the Horizon Report trends can be found.  The tutorials are a component of online learning.  The Google form lends itself to using some analytics, and the active learning components are part of the students as creators trend, as is using Padlet for sharing the citation maps.  The Padlet technology is really the only technology that could really enhance the class.  I think that it will help motivate students to complete the task by sharing their work with others, and being able to review all the results by looking at them together will enhance the discussion.