The Digital Classroom

Transforming the Way We Learn

Ann S. Michaelsen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367611057
• eBook ISBN: 9781000328837
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The way students learn changes when they have access to digital tools. The Digital Classroom demonstrates that using technology to enhance students' learning is not dependent on a specific learning management system or software – it is about changing the pedagogy with the help of an arsenal of useful tools and methods.

This practical book introduces easy to use methods to all teachers in digital classrooms with the intention to make it simple, accessible, and achievable for everyone. It is not only about the tools, and the how and why, but also about changing the pedagogy making the learning more relevant to the students. When you open the classroom to the rest of the world, the teacher becomes more important than ever. Topics in the book include:

• Technology and deeper learning
• Social media in the global classroom
• Building a personal learning network
• The flipped classroom and cooperative learning
• The use of iPads in primary and middle school
• Teaching with videogames
• Special education
• Digital citizenship

Digital tools can play a key role in making learning happen and what the teachers know about the use of technology is key. The Digital Classroom will be of great interest to teachers and trainee teachers who wish to develop their digital competency by using the book as part of their professional learning.

chapter

1

Learning in the digital classroom

Ann S. Michaelsen

Introduction

This book will show you how to use digital tools to enhance student learning. My background is both as an English teacher, a school leader at Sandvika High School in Oslo, Norway, author and speaker. I have many years of experience teaching in a digital classroom. Our school was new in 2006, and the year after, we became a 1:1 bring-your-own-device school. Everyone has a computer, and the ratio now is about 50–50 Mac versus PC. At the same time, we introduced block scheduling, meaning that we teach mostly one and no more than two subjects each day. I talk about the advantages of this later on in the book. Although I teach in a high school, what I write about here applies just as much to primary and middle school because the tools and methods used here can be applied across age groups and subjects.

With this book, I want to share good examples of the use of technology in teaching. The key is to get the technology, pedagogy, and content to connect. I hope that this book can help you utilize the educational potentials of digital technology and that by reading this book, it will be easier for you to get started.

In this first chapter, I look at the use of technology in the classroom, deeper learning, students’ ownership of their learning, and the global classroom. Chapters 2 and 3 show step by step how to make use of a selection of digital tools. The goal is to change what is taking place in the classroom and make learning both relevant and exciting for the students. I have concentrated on what is free or what schools most likely already have invested in. There might be a difference in what is provided for you, depending on your country. In Chapter 4, I have invited a middle school teacher to write about his experiences using iPads in class with many helpful suggestions for suitable apps. Chapters 5 and 6 take a closer look at using technology in cooperative learning and the flipped classroom, and in Chapter 7, two experts in gaming write about using computer games to learn. In Chapter 8, I show examples of how students should behave online, and I share advice on safe and practical web searches for both teachers and students. In Chapter 9, I take a closer look at pedagogy and technology designed to make learning with computers more accessible and how technology can help our more vulnerable students. Chapter 10 offers insight from a professor at the University of Oslo on how research ties into the way I work with my students in the classroom.

Technology in school

Using technology has become a natural part of our everyday life, but technology requires new ways of teaching and teachers who know how to adapt. Classroom management is more critical to succeeding now that every student has access to a device. One solution could be to control students’ use of technology in school by limiting access to the internet. Many would probably agree that this is not the best solution. Try searching for private networks at your school, and you will see that students have access to private Wi-Fi everywhere. A mobile phone in your pocket can easily be used to create private networks. Many schools have resorted to what they call mobile phone hotels. At our school, we have these mobile phone hotels on the walls in every classroom, and students now know that they have to put their phones there when they enter the classroom. This has turned out to be a good solution, mostly because if they need phones for activities in the classroom, they are allowed to use them. We know that students can be stressed by constant messages from Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. And at the same time, even if we eliminate the use of mobile phones, students still have access to most of the mentioned social media on their computers. In other words, we need to be aware of how students use technology when we set up our lessons and plan accordingly.

Since I started using technology in my class in 2006, I have changed my mind about how much we should limit the online opportunities for our students. As I now see it, some students will be able to work well with full internet access, and others will not. Also, the problem with limiting internet access is that our students are entering a world filled with temptations and, later, a work environment where they need to master new digital technologies. As teachers, we can help them develop a healthy approach to sensible use in a technology-rich environment. If we are aspiring towards student-centered learning, we need to know that they can focus on learning when they are online. At our school, we experience a change in attitude among our students from the beginning of high school until graduation. The younger the students, the more you have to work with them. Self-control and knowing how you learn with technology is a process. That said, it is essential to point out that what goes on in the classroom is the teacher’s responsibility. If you choose to lecture with a PowerPoint presentation, control your PC with a clicker as you move around in the classroom. Often, a glance at students who are engaging in something else is all that is needed. Should students take notes when listening to the teacher? Do they need to? Many students are good at taking notes; others are easily distracted. This can be clarified by the teacher if you ask to see the students’ notes before they leave class. Students who engage in other activities on their PCs often dim the screen so that their teacher does not see what is going on. Others flip through different setups when the teacher passes by (ALT+TAB). If you are not sure what your students are doing when you are teaching, invite other teachers or administrators into your classroom to observe. This is often the basis for useful discussions, both with the observer and with students.

What goes on in the classroom – using technology – must always be planned and administrated by the teacher, preferably in close dialogue with the students. How are we using technology, when, and why? How is it helping us learn? Those are useful questions.

In my experience, to address these issues, the teacher needs a certain amount of digital competency, and many find it too challenging to keep up in this area. We all know that teachers have many tasks. Teaching is a 24/7 job, and learning new skills can seem daunting. This is where this book is meant to help. The goal is to show that digital tools can free up time and that it is possible to take small steps to get there.

A pedagogy for deeper learning

Deeper learning is a buzzword in education, at least in Norway. Deeper learning is often associated with 21-century teaching and learning. It ties well in with the methods I describe in this book. The use of technology that I address in this book is related to the new curricula for schools in Norway, implemented in 2020. The goal in Norway now is that all students should attend a school where they are able to master every subject and where what they learn is both relevant and forward-thinking and based on the concept of deeper learning. I am convinced that this is the way to approach the future of schools everywhere.

Deeper learning is a critical and higher-order thinking model that is made up of the following six competencies: master core academic content, think critically and solve complex problems, communicate effectively, work collaboratively, learn how to...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Endorsement Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Contributors
• Introduction: A significant change in teaching and learning
• Chapter 1: Learning in the digital classroom
• Chapter 2: Digital tools for the classroom
• Chapter 3: Social media in the global classroom
• Chapter 4: Tablet PCs in primary and middle school
• Chapter 5: Cooperative learning
• Chapter 6: The flipped classroom
• Chapter 7: Teaching with video games
• Chapter 8: Digital citizenship
• Chapter 9: Special needs education
• Chapter 10: The digital classroom: What is the insight from contemporary educational research?
• Index