Pick a technology that interests you, and play with it. Try it out with a colleague, and find a
support person or Web site to help you in your endeavor. There will undoubtedly be bumps
in the road, but technology’s ability to engage your students and amplify learning in new
ways just might have you saying, “Wow!”
nologies and take chances in implementing them. Some things will take
off and will allow your students to
soar; others will prove less worthy of
classroom time, as Fitzgerald discovered when he attempted to use another digital game that proved to be too
complex for his students. Being mindful of the likelihood of bumps in the
road can help minimize problems as
you experiment with these new technologies in the classroom. Fitzgerald
says, “Sure it’s tech stuff, but just be
willing to tinker! It’s like any tool, just
a little more complex.”
Also, bringing something into the
classroom that is open-ended and not
teacher-directed comes with problems.
Not knowing exactly what’s going to
happen is an unsettling feeling for
most educators. Without clear outcomes that can be anticipated, the
facilitation of learning experiences
around these tools will be challenging
the first time you try it. Classrooms
successfully using social networking,
digital games, and simulations are student-centered, and require the teacher
to support the learning that will unfold
through student interaction with the
tool. However, Scheintaub explains,
“This is the best situation, because you
and the kids become partners in learning.” When something goes wrong, or
the students run into something they
don’t know how to do, Scheintaub and
his students seek other ways to solve
the problem together—a great way to
model and practice problem-solving
with students. Similarly, digital games
are also very open-ended and can lead
to various outcomes in the classroom.
Fitzgerald explains that running games
such as Diplomacy can raise tensions
among students as they learn to negotiate as diplomats. Although these
tensions may be a bit unsettling at first,
they are an excellent way for students
to develop real skills that tie to the
classroom content.
Strategies for Success
So why give these technologies a try?
According to Fitzgerald and Scheintaub, it all comes down to student
learning. When Fitzgerald’s classroom
engages with a digital game, “students
gain deeper conceptual knowledge,
and they understand the content better.” Student scores on his classroom
tests have improved since using digital games in instruction. Scheintaub
echoes Fitzgerald’s sentiments, adding
that these technologies are highly engaging. “By bringing school into the
modern era, they like it and relate to it.”
With value like that, we believe
these technologies are worth taking
some risks in the classroom. Here are
some tips to get started:
Explore. Spend time just playing with
these technologies. Try surfing Ning
to see how other schools are using
it, or start a Facebook account. Club
Penguin is a popular simulation/
social network for elementary students. A number of simulations are
available in almost every field of
science. One popular site is Explore
Science (subscription required).
Partner with a colleague. Try new
technologies together, or share notes
of things you’ve found independently. It’s a great way to bounce
ideas off of someone and learn from
their successes and challenges. Can’t
find anyone at your school? Attend
a session at a conference about the
technologies you’re interested in, or
search the Internet for teachers who
use them. Building relationships with
other educators is a great way to build
a support network, and today’s tech-
nologies make it easy to communicate
with colleagues near and far.
Find additional supports. Express
your interest to the Academic Technologist at your school. They’ll likely
be able to put you in touch with several resources to support your work.
Many resources exist via the Web; for
example, Starlogo TNG has a listserv
where members are educators just like
Hal Sheintaub who have questions
and insights about using this tool in
the classroom.
There’s still much we need to learn
about how social networks, simulations, and digital gaming can improve
learning, but they are proving valuable
in classrooms such as Scheintaub’s and
Fitzgerald’s. Pick a technology that interests you, and play with it. Try it out
with a colleague, and find a support
person or Web site to help you in your
endeavor. There will undoubtedly be
bumps in the road, but technology’s
ability to engage your students and
amplify learning in new ways just
might have you saying, “Wow!”
Resources
Club Penguin: http://www.clubpenguin.com
Cost of Life: http://www.costoflife.org
Explore Science: http://explorescience.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com
Ning: http://www.ning.com
Starlogo: http://education.mit.edu/starlogo-tng/
Jennifer Groff, MEd, is a researcher at the MIT Education
Arcade, where she focuses on
pedagogy, cognition, and learning with digital technologies.
Jason Haas, MEd, is a research
associate in The Education Arcade at MIT. His research currently focuses on student learning
practices in iCue, a collaborative
learning and gaming Web site
developed by NBC News.
