Students in Control

I watched a Ted talk today by Willem Jan Renger about games as a way for teaching and learning.  He talked about teachers who are afraid of technology- teachers who need control so put the phones away when you walk in the class and you can get them back at the end.  Teachers who are part of a generation gap when it comes to technology because we were not raised with it and it is true.  Even young teachers like myself have not been using technology as long as most of my students.  I got my first laptop when I was in high school in 2001 and barely used it.  I just started using the internet effectively for learning in the past 10 years when my students have used it since they were very young- maybe even five or six. 

I strive constantly to keep up on new technology and not be a part of that generation gap and to not be afraid to try out new technology in my classroom.  I don't want to limit my students on what resources they can use.  I don't want to remove tools that could be useful in learning just so I have more control and yes, that does mean that a student may take advantage of it occasionally.  Personally, I would rather give my students more freedom and have 1 student on YouTube watching a music video and 20 students on tutorials learning what interests them than say no one can use YouTube in my classroom.

I want a classroom where the students have control and responsibility.  They get dynamic feedback and are required to use strategic decision making- just like games require players.  I want my students to feel like respected equals who are a part of my class- not students who have no control.  I want my classroom to be ran like a video game which never treats players like players but instead puts them in the game and gives them full control.  We hold students back by assuming the worst will happen if we let them have freedom and flexibility. 

Instead of longer seat time, lectures, and standardized tests we should be allowing students to stay in classes longer when they need help and less when they are ahead of the class.  We need to allow students to apply the things they are learning to problem solving projects instead of filling in multiple choice bubbles.  We teachers need to do better and it will be harder but it is time we take the harder route and do what is best for our students instead of what is easier for ourselves.

To see the Ted talk the link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPePpD5kPJo

Facilitation

Last week visited a school in Louisiana- St. Charles Satellite Center.  It is a school not unlike CAS with smaller class sizes, project based learning, and a flexible environment.  Although I get to see the progress my students make every day it was great to see a similar learning environment where students use critical thinking and problem solving skills throughout class.  Talking with those students also made me remember why I love doing what I do.  I felt like I lost site of that (at least slightly) during the rush of the new semester and starting my dissertation but after the school visit I am reengergized and back on track.  Once I returned I had an open discussion with my students about the recent quality of their work and how I wanted them to take even more ownership.

My students are working on finishing up a major game build and I love walking around the room and hearing the conversations they are having; it really engergizes me (well that and coffee).  Fixing issues together, researching coding errors, and learning how to do test cases.  It is amazing what they can accomplish with nothing more than facilitation.

We hinder students when we give them the answers up front.  We sell learners short when we hand them step by step instructions instead of allowing them to discover a process on their own.  It is important to have facilitators to help guide but I hope that is all I am, a guide and not someone who feels the need to control every little thing.