Once the focus tools are selected, the next step is learning how to learn about and evaluate those tools. To begin, each of the focus tools should be defined. This definition should be detailed enough that someone would have an idea of what the tool is and how it can be used, but concise in that it does not overwhelm a user. The definition should also be shared with students and parents, or made available online for easy access. By creating a simple definition, it begins to create a shared vocabulary that can be used at both home and school.
Any example definition of Google Apps for Education could be: “A suite of online applications that are designed to allow people to collaborate in real time, or share documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with each other. Users can log-in using any Internet connection to access their files”.
This is an overly simplistic example of Google Apps, but it features key words that explains what the software can be used for, as well as how it can be used. The definition references documents, spreadsheets and presentations, which are the main features of Google Docs. In addition, it makes reference to the fact that you can access your information from anywhere with an internet connection, which lets you know that the software doesn’t reside in a computer lab or classroom and can be used from home. Lastly, it talks about the fact that Google Apps can be a collaborative space and allows people to share their documents or work. Google Apps may have more features than what is listed in the definition, but this is a starting point for explaining the basic and core functions based on how they are used in a particular school.
Once a definition has been created for the focus tools, the next step is to introduce the idea of “Affordances and Constraints”. For each tool, there are features or aspects of that tool that makes it particularly useful, while there may also be features that make it more difficult to use than others. This is the beginning of the evaluation process. By first defining the tool, and now determining the affordances and constraints, teachers are building the capacity to evaluate other tools in the future.
When determining the affordances for a tool, it is important to use the following questions to help identify what they are:
- How does it support 21st Century skills?
- How do students and staff access the tool?
- How flexible is this tool?
- Can it be used to publish/share content?
- Is it multimodal?
- Does it allow of accountability/assessment?
These questions allow for teachers to craft a list of affordances that a particular tool offers. Once again, this list should be shared the same as the definition. By creating this list, it will help teachers apply a tool based on a task, and to determine which tool would be the most appropriate. Conversely, the same can be said by creating a list of constraints. The same set of questions can be used to help determine the constraints of using a tool. Additionally, it is also important to identify how much background training or knowledge students and staff need to use those tools. Some tools do require a good deal of setup on the back-end to use them seamlessly in a lesson, and that may affect how the tool is integrated.
This method of evaluating tools is something that should be continued throughout the year, and encouraged when doing any kind of collaborative lesson planning.
Now that the tools have been established and an evaluation method has been developed, I will no longer focus on the tool. As I mention in Part 1, this framework is designed to deepen the understanding of how technology relates and affects pedagogy, and vice versa. It also puts the focus of integration on the learning task or activity, rather than the tool. However, I believe in order to get teachers to that point, it is important to begin on a common ground. Focus tools allow us to begin at a common ground and takes the onus off of having to teach too many tools. In the next post, I will begin to look at how technology can be integrated into the curriculum.
