Methods of Teaching Technology

By Mr Kurt S Candilas MAE English 2

Todays computer-based technologies offer powerful new ways to provide students with direct experience in the classroom curriculum. And, through using teaching and learning resources that can be manipulated electronically, technology can extend the experience of students far beyond the time and space limitations of conventional materials.

Making it work
What are the techniques that are most effective for teaching effectively with technology in large-group, small-group, and individualized situations? To a large extent, they are the same as those used to encourage discovery learning in any context. The following methods have been documented extensively with hundreds of successful teachers and should have observable results in the classroom.

Methods of Teaching Technology

1. Techniques for Initiating Technology-Based Learning 2. Managing Technology-Based Resources and Activities 3. Effective Approaches for Concluding the Learning Experience 4. The Art of Questioning 5. Giving Instructions

Techniques for Initiating Technology-Based Learning

1. Relate Each Technology Activity to Student Experience: Your students need to understand the purpose of every technology-based activity, and a good way to accomplish this is to integrate local content into the experience. 2. When Introducing Unique Marketing Materials, Provide Unstructured Time: If students are being given their first opportunity to use new hardware (a scanner, for example) or tool software (such as a drawing/painting program), it is difficult to focus immediately on a structured activity while they are captivated by the experience itself.

Techniques for Initiating Technology-Based Learning

In such cases it is a good idea to provide initial exploratory time for students to try things and become comfortable with the materials. 3. Introduce All New Terms in Writing: Students should be able to read any new vocabulary term that is introduced in a lesson or activity. This ensures that they grasp the actual word being communicated and adds an additional concrete dimension to learning.

4. Organize Technology Resources for Easy Distribution:

Techniques for Initiating Technology-Based Learning

5. Keep Teaching Materials Hidden Until They Are Needed: Whether you are introducing computer-based laboratory probes, a graphics tablet, or computer-controlled construction materials, putting materials on display at the start of an activity is likely to distract students when you would like them to be listening to you, not wondering when and how specific items will be used.

Managing Technology-Based Resources and Activities

1. Once the Technology Activity Starts, Check 100 Percent of the Students 2. Attempt to Separate Talk Time and Work Time 3. Avoid Talking Over Group Noise 4. Avoid Telling or Concluding for Students 5. To Prompt Student Discussions, Join Groups as an Observer 6. Return to the Technology Materials to Resolve Differences

Effective Approaches for Concluding the Learning Experience

1. Alert Students to the Approaching End of Each Activity: Technology-based activities are so involving and empowering that time passes quickly. Thus, when students are given an abrupt signal to end an activity, it can be an unwelcome intrusion that catches them in the middle of an involved procedure. It is therefore better to alert students to the approaching end of an activity. 2. Use a Group Focus to Display Information for Discussion: Especially since many technology-based activities are done by individuals and small groups, and many different kinds of investigations may take place, it is important to meet periodically as a whole class to discuss procedures and results.

Effective Approaches for Concluding the Learning Experience

3. Avoid Lysiphobia, and Make Links to the Next Technology Activity: Lysiphobia--a word coined by the late Dr. Robert Karplus of the University of California at Berkeley--is defined as the fear of leaving loose ends. A teacher who is lysiphobic, therefore, attempts to wrap a lesson into an overly neat package by summarizing what was learned.

4. When Possible, Provide for At-Home Technology Activities: Technology is making home/school connections more possible than ever, and you should try to take advantage of these opportunities.

The Art of Questioning

Asking the right question is central to all types of meaningful teaching and learning, and the inquiry questioning teachers presented here are equally relevant when teaching with technology. 1. Avoid Asking Everyone Questions: Asking an everyone question, (e.g., Is everyone finished? Does everyone understand?) is an invitation for everyone to respond out loud. As a result, the noise level in the class rises unnecessarily amid a group chorus of yes, yup, and me, too. The preferred question format is to ask Who is not finished? and Who does not understand? which brings only a few voice responses.

The Art of Questioning

2. Pause at Least Three to Five Seconds After Asking Each Question: Research done by Dr. Mary Budd Rowe of the University of Florida has shown that teachers typically wait less than one second after asking a question before they call on a student, answer the question themselves, or make an additional comment, and that they wait the least amount of time for slower students to respond. 3. Avoid Repeating Student Answers: Repeating the answers of students is a common problem that can become an annoying habit.

The Art of Questioning

For example:

Teacher: screen? Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher: Student: Teacher:

What kind of words are highlighted on the Those are adjectives. Yes, those are adjectives. And they refer to the nouns. Right, they refer to the nouns. So we choose D at the bottom. Correct, so we choose D at the bottom. etc.

Repeating student answers teaches them not to listen to each other, since the teacher will repeat what has been said. It also brings a feeling of artificiality to the classroom . One of the best ways to get students to respect each others contributions is to remove the crutch of repeating answers.

The Art of Questioning

4. Put Student Names at the END of Directed Questions: If you direct questions to a specific student using the format, Kurt, how do you save a graphics file? the rest of the class tends to disregard the question, since a student has already been asked to respond. It is therefore better to place the name of the student at the end of the question and pause before announcing it, for example, How do you save a graphics file?. . . (long pause). . . Kurt. 5. Turn Students Questions Back to the Students Initially: You can encourage students to do their own thinking and learn to answer their own questions if you turn most questions back to the students who ask them, with a response such as Well, what do you think?

Giving Instructions
Techniques for giving instructions effectively are even more important in teaching with technology, where many different kinds of activities may be going on at the same time. Here are some suggestions: 1. Make Instructions as Concrete as Possible
The key to giving instructions clearly is to list them as a series of steps to be followed and to list the materials that are needed. Presentation in paragraph form is almost always less effective. A word processor or presentation software such as Persuasion (Aldus) or PowerPoint (Microsoft) can be used effectively with a large-screen monitor or computer projection system in this way.

Giving Instructions
2. Give Instructions Different Ways: In addition to giving instructions verbally--both orally and in writing--they can also be given symbolically, through pictures and diagrams, and concretely, by using sample sets of materials or examples of work to be completed.
3. Give instructions in Bite-Sized Chunks:

When students are given too many directions at the same time, confusion is inevitable. Rather than packing all instructions into the start of an activity, it is better--for you as well as your students--to divide a lesson or activity into several installments, coming together for additional instructions between each episode.

- THE END Thank You for listening!

Reference
Dyrli, O. and Kinnaman, D. (1995). Teaching Effectively with Technology: What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Technology. Retrieved February 09, 2014 from http://www.writesite.org/html/art1.html#Top