Teaching with a Digital Mindset

 With pupils:

• Provide frequent, meaningful feedback-this will show pupils what they did well and give them a roadmap to replicate this in every homework.
• Give students an opportunity to reflect on the improvements they have made. How often do we set a homework for students to complete and not give feedback – this is where further and deep learning happens! I understand that it’s not always possible, given the number of students you may have, but giving feedback on a regular basis (that doesn’t need to be for every homework) will help student development in your subject area.
• Provide students with an opportunity to learn from their peer group. By sharing submissions, they can learn new skills from their peers. Learning does not always have to go through the teacher and can be stronger when coming from a peer.
• Assess for growth, not completion.
• Allow students to collaborate across class period.
• Look for cross-curricular opportunities
• Seek out opportunities to collaborate with experts outside of your school-real world experience in a subject can help with career choices, but als show pupils how your subject works in the real world. For some subjects this is quite obvious, but other subjects can hold a pupils’ interest but they can’t see how it would become a career choice.

 

• Use a single platform where students submit work and receive feedback on their work. This should be easy and probably already being used of you use a platform like Google Classroom.
• Create a website that you can update on a daily basis. This can also act as a repository for your curriculum content for students to accecss outside of class teaching time.
• Have a system to save new ideas and resources when you find them that are related to your subject area. Sites/apps like Pinterest, Wakelet and Flipboard can be very helpful for this.
• Link classroom resources so that they can be easily updated and adapted
• Have an agreed plan for updating parents and students about any changes to submission dates and homeowrk scheduling, but this may also be available if you are using a platform like Google Classroom.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using paper in your classroom. But don’t let your digital mindset be restricted by a historical understanding of the limits of paper and pencil. Removing this type of thinking will allow you to see much more potential in your use of technology with pupils and allow your digital mindset to grow; to enhance poupil learning and develop your digital teaching skills.

 

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• Use apps that don’t remind pupils of paper (Video, Prezi, Google Drawing).
• Transform your paper worksheets using apps like Blendspace, EdPuzzle, or Quizlet.
• If you use Google Docs, remember that you can change the size and colour of your document to fit the project. There’s nothing special about the A4 page – just historical familiarity.
• Are you over-emphasising length, words, or pages to your students rather than focusing on the quality of the content? Yes length and pages used does make a contribution to quality content, but there are pupils who will see the page requirement as the main focus, not the content you want them to learn.
• Stop using PDF files.They are fine for reading, but they emphasise the digital A4 page format that we might want to get away from.

• Ask students to include links, video, and images in their assignments. This can make the work more interactive and help you source new material that you might not have found before.
• Allow students to use tools which support video, audio and images. Their digital life is already interactive – you can make great use of this interactivity in their education also.
• Encourage students to share their work with classmates, the school, and the world. Building this type of social media profile with your pupils will encourage and reward positive behaviour, rather than leaving them to use their skills and knowledge for mischievous ends! The career prospects may also open up new possibilities for pupils that don’t currently exist.
• Encourage students to link to work from their classmates. The workplace works collaboratively as there are very few projects that can be completed alone, but in education we still focus on individual output (mostly for assessment reasons, but is this the best way of assessing what pupils can do?)

• Build collaboration into your next assignment – but think how this can work naturally. Is there a topic you teach that lends itself to collaborative work? Think in the context of minimal extra work from you, but maximum return on work from your classes and enjoyment in the subject.
• Encouraging peer review
• Ask questions for which there is more than one possible answer – create contexts in which you are forcing your pupils to think!
• Explain the differences between cheating and collaboration with your students.

 With pupils:

• Provide frequent, meaningful feedback-this will show pupils what they did well and give them a roadmap to replicate this in every homework.
• Give students an opportunity to reflect on the improvements they have made. How often do we set a homework for students to complete and not give feedback – this is where further and deep learning happens! I understand that it’s not always possible, given the number of students you may have, but giving feedback on a regular basis (that doesn’t need to be for every homework) will help student development in your subject area.
• Provide students with an opportunity to learn from their peer group. By sharing submissions, they can learn new skills from their peers. Learning does not always have to go through the teacher and can be stronger when coming from a peer.
• Assess for growth, not completion.
• Allow students to collaborate across class period.
• Look for cross-curricular opportunities
• Seek out opportunities to collaborate with experts outside of your school-real world experience in a subject can help with career choices, but als show pupils how your subject works in the real world. For some subjects this is quite obvious, but other subjects can hold a pupils’ interest but they can’t see how it would become a career choice.

 

• Use a single platform where students submit work and receive feedback on their work. This should be easy and probably already being used of you use a platform like Google Classroom.
• Create a website that you can update on a daily basis. This can also act as a repository for your curriculum content for students to accecss outside of class teaching time.
• Have a system to save new ideas and resources when you find them that are related to your subject area. Sites/apps like Pinterest, Wakelet and Flipboard can be very helpful for this.
• Link classroom resources so that they can be easily updated and adapted
• Have an agreed plan for updating parents and students about any changes to submission dates and homeowrk scheduling, but this may also be available if you are using a platform like Google Classroom.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using paper in your classroom. But don’t let your digital mindset be restricted by a historical understanding of the limits of paper and pencil. Removing this type of thinking will allow you to see much more potential in your use of technology with pupils and allow your digital mindset to grow; to enhance poupil learning and develop your digital teaching skills.

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] There are many digital tools that “feel” like paper (Google Docs and MS Word are the two obvious examples). But we don’t have to limit ourselves to the A4 rectangle. Could your next assignments work better as a Google Drawing, Presentation, website or a video? The digital page is infinite and can grow as your ideas develop and take shape. We may feel more comfortable working with paper, and there are times when this is the better choice but don’t limit your students to the A4 rectangle.

Here are some ideas to how to we can break out of “the box” in our classroom:

• Use apps that don’t remind pupils of paper (Video, Prezi, Google Drawing).
• Transform your paper worksheets using apps like Blendspace, EdPuzzle, or Quizlet.
• If you use Google Docs, remember that you can change the size and colour of your document to fit the project. There’s nothing special about the A4 page – just historical familiarity.
• Are you over-emphasising length, words, or pages to your students rather than focusing on the quality of the content? Yes length and pages used does make a contribution to quality content, but there are pupils who will see the page requirement as the main focus, not the content you want them to learn.
• Stop using PDF files.They are fine for reading, but they emphasise the digital A4 page format that we might want to get away from.

• Ask students to include links, video, and images in their assignments. This can make the work more interactive and help you source new material that you might not have found before.
• Allow students to use tools which support video, audio and images. Their digital life is already interactive – you can make great use of this interactivity in their education also.
• Encourage students to share their work with classmates, the school, and the world. Building this type of social media profile with your pupils will encourage and reward positive behaviour, rather than leaving them to use their skills and knowledge for mischievous ends! The career prospects may also open up new possibilities for pupils that don’t currently exist.
• Encourage students to link to work from their classmates. The workplace works collaboratively as there are very few projects that can be completed alone, but in education we still focus on individual output (mostly for assessment reasons, but is this the best way of assessing what pupils can do?)

• Build collaboration into your next assignment – but think how this can work naturally. Is there a topic you teach that lends itself to collaborative work? Think in the context of minimal extra work from you, but maximum return on work from your classes and enjoyment in the subject.
• Encouraging peer review
• Ask questions for which there is more than one possible answer – create contexts in which you are forcing your pupils to think!
• Explain the differences between cheating and collaboration with your students.

 With pupils:

• Provide frequent, meaningful feedback-this will show pupils what they did well and give them a roadmap to replicate this in every homework.
• Give students an opportunity to reflect on the improvements they have made. How often do we set a homework for students to complete and not give feedback – this is where further and deep learning happens! I understand that it’s not always possible, given the number of students you may have, but giving feedback on a regular basis (that doesn’t need to be for every homework) will help student development in your subject area.
• Provide students with an opportunity to learn from their peer group. By sharing submissions, they can learn new skills from their peers. Learning does not always have to go through the teacher and can be stronger when coming from a peer.
• Assess for growth, not completion.
• Allow students to collaborate across class period.
• Look for cross-curricular opportunities
• Seek out opportunities to collaborate with experts outside of your school-real world experience in a subject can help with career choices, but als show pupils how your subject works in the real world. For some subjects this is quite obvious, but other subjects can hold a pupils’ interest but they can’t see how it would become a career choice.

 

• Use a single platform where students submit work and receive feedback on their work. This should be easy and probably already being used of you use a platform like Google Classroom.
• Create a website that you can update on a daily basis. This can also act as a repository for your curriculum content for students to accecss outside of class teaching time.
• Have a system to save new ideas and resources when you find them that are related to your subject area. Sites/apps like Pinterest, Wakelet and Flipboard can be very helpful for this.
• Link classroom resources so that they can be easily updated and adapted
• Have an agreed plan for updating parents and students about any changes to submission dates and homeowrk scheduling, but this may also be available if you are using a platform like Google Classroom.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using paper in your classroom. But don’t let your digital mindset be restricted by a historical understanding of the limits of paper and pencil. Removing this type of thinking will allow you to see much more potential in your use of technology with pupils and allow your digital mindset to grow; to enhance poupil learning and develop your digital teaching skills.

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row] There are many digital tools that “feel” like paper (Google Docs and MS Word are the two obvious examples). But we don’t have to limit ourselves to the A4 rectangle. Could your next assignments work better as a Google Drawing, Presentation, website or a video? The digital page is infinite and can grow as your ideas develop and take shape. We may feel more comfortable working with paper, and there are times when this is the better choice but don’t limit your students to the A4 rectangle.

Here are some ideas to how to we can break out of “the box” in our classroom:

• Use apps that don’t remind pupils of paper (Video, Prezi, Google Drawing).
• Transform your paper worksheets using apps like Blendspace, EdPuzzle, or Quizlet.
• If you use Google Docs, remember that you can change the size and colour of your document to fit the project. There’s nothing special about the A4 page – just historical familiarity.
• Are you over-emphasising length, words, or pages to your students rather than focusing on the quality of the content? Yes length and pages used does make a contribution to quality content, but there are pupils who will see the page requirement as the main focus, not the content you want them to learn.
• Stop using PDF files.They are fine for reading, but they emphasise the digital A4 page format that we might want to get away from.

• Ask students to include links, video, and images in their assignments. This can make the work more interactive and help you source new material that you might not have found before.
• Allow students to use tools which support video, audio and images. Their digital life is already interactive – you can make great use of this interactivity in their education also.
• Encourage students to share their work with classmates, the school, and the world. Building this type of social media profile with your pupils will encourage and reward positive behaviour, rather than leaving them to use their skills and knowledge for mischievous ends! The career prospects may also open up new possibilities for pupils that don’t currently exist.
• Encourage students to link to work from their classmates. The workplace works collaboratively as there are very few projects that can be completed alone, but in education we still focus on individual output (mostly for assessment reasons, but is this the best way of assessing what pupils can do?)

• Build collaboration into your next assignment – but think how this can work naturally. Is there a topic you teach that lends itself to collaborative work? Think in the context of minimal extra work from you, but maximum return on work from your classes and enjoyment in the subject.
• Encouraging peer review
• Ask questions for which there is more than one possible answer – create contexts in which you are forcing your pupils to think!
• Explain the differences between cheating and collaboration with your students.

 With pupils:

• Provide frequent, meaningful feedback-this will show pupils what they did well and give them a roadmap to replicate this in every homework.
• Give students an opportunity to reflect on the improvements they have made. How often do we set a homework for students to complete and not give feedback – this is where further and deep learning happens! I understand that it’s not always possible, given the number of students you may have, but giving feedback on a regular basis (that doesn’t need to be for every homework) will help student development in your subject area.
• Provide students with an opportunity to learn from their peer group. By sharing submissions, they can learn new skills from their peers. Learning does not always have to go through the teacher and can be stronger when coming from a peer.
• Assess for growth, not completion.
• Allow students to collaborate across class period.
• Look for cross-curricular opportunities
• Seek out opportunities to collaborate with experts outside of your school-real world experience in a subject can help with career choices, but als show pupils how your subject works in the real world. For some subjects this is quite obvious, but other subjects can hold a pupils’ interest but they can’t see how it would become a career choice.

 

• Use a single platform where students submit work and receive feedback on their work. This should be easy and probably already being used of you use a platform like Google Classroom.
• Create a website that you can update on a daily basis. This can also act as a repository for your curriculum content for students to accecss outside of class teaching time.
• Have a system to save new ideas and resources when you find them that are related to your subject area. Sites/apps like Pinterest, Wakelet and Flipboard can be very helpful for this.
• Link classroom resources so that they can be easily updated and adapted
• Have an agreed plan for updating parents and students about any changes to submission dates and homeowrk scheduling, but this may also be available if you are using a platform like Google Classroom.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using paper in your classroom. But don’t let your digital mindset be restricted by a historical understanding of the limits of paper and pencil. Removing this type of thinking will allow you to see much more potential in your use of technology with pupils and allow your digital mindset to grow; to enhance poupil learning and develop your digital teaching skills.

 

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