As I’ve been exploring the potential of using technology in the classroom, I have discovered that there is more out there than I realized. Social Networking, Surveys, and Community Data can all play a part in enhancing the learning environment.
Social Networking has been around for a long time, but I haven’t been using it in my classrooms. Over the years, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have evolved to include the ability to follow not only our friends, but also professionals, learning environments, and locations. As an art and art history teacher, I have encouraged my students to follow museums, galleries, and artists. These resources are easily identified in their threads and have provided helpful information for greater content knowledge. I’ve seen so many students use these discoveries as reliable, academic resources for their classwork.
One of my first professional jobs in my 20’s was at a marketing research facility. The survey collection system has changed dramatically since then because it can now be done online. When I was working in the field, we would approach people in public places, ask them if they would take a survey, then complete the survey on paper. We paid each respondent for their time (which varied, depending on complexity of the survey), edited each by hand, and sent them off to our clients. We also pre-screened each respondent so we knew we had a good distribution of ages, gender, educational level, etc. Since surveys can now be easily created and distributed, it can become a useful tool for the learning environment. Teachers can get real-time responses to their questions, which will inform them about a variety of classroom situations: readiness to learn, social entanglements, even who had a good breakfast. Students can also use surveys to collect information on any issue or topic that interests them. I think it’s great to encourage learners to take their peers opinions into account.
Community Data is yet another resource for learners that provide real-time access to information. These resources are especially helpful in the sciences because they provide real-time data on the environment, animal migration, weather patterns, and more. For the art history class, I have used a free website called SmartHistory. Take a look at their website: https://smarthistory.org/.
They provide interactive content, videos, and activities for college students, all designed by professional art historians. The content is presented in a conversational tone: no memorizing dates and facts here! Here’s a collaborative video surveying what they do and what their mission is:
This community data has been integral in my teaching strategies. When I took art history as an undergrad, it was a large lecture hall with teacher-led learning. There was a lot of memorizing data and it wasn’t engaging. I teach art history in smaller class sizes, and I use the resources at Khan Academy to help facilitate discussion and understanding.
Using technology in the classroom has it’s rewards, but it also has some pitfalls. Vawn Himmelsbach (2019) warns that technology can be distracting to students and even facilitate cheating in her Education Technology Blog (https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/). If we are going to be integrating technology into learning, we need to be very careful about how we use it, what we provide for our students, and how we can maintain a positive learning environment. What can we do to ensure proper use of technology in the classroom? How can we make it viable? And when can we use it to facilitate education reform? Times are changing: we have to catch up!
References
Himmelsbach, V. (July 15, 2019). Technology in the classroom: 6 pros and cons. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from: https://tophat.com/blog/6-pros-cons-technology-classroom/
Tracy Collamore PLE Project 