As a technology coach with a responsibility for training staff on new technologies that my school purchases/buys into, I often have to work with members of staff who believe the 'current' way they do things is already great. Certainly, when they are awarded "Outstanding" in lesson observations by Ofsted who can argue with them? Here I am thinking "whao, your lessons are outstanding!" but I have to get you using technology in the classroom to bring you into the 21st century!
I have had some good successes with individuals who don't see why they should change. I was able to show them that the focus of their lesson can be the students and that they can extend their classroom far beyond the tables, desks and paper they sit at and write into. When I work with members of faculty like this, I am very careful not to say: "You can use technology to improve your teaching", or "Using technology will improve your students' learning." The "improve" word is a problem; it gets their back up! How can you improve on teaching that is officially considered "outstanding?" So, my vocabulary has changed to "enhance."
I try to sneak techie ideas "under the door." The staffroom at lunchtime is a good place for this where I walk in with a big grin on my face. People just can't help ask what has made me so happy, so I tell them how my students videoed themselves pretending to be newsreaders reporting about an epidemic of Spanish Flu and the percentage of people that died from it in the past. I have automatically hit English, History, Media, Science and Maths! I then go on to describe how the students added captions and links to their videos in the YouTube editor, how they built a Google Map of the areas reported worst hit - linking in their videos etc. and how the other students proceeded to add comments for evaluation and improvement. All of these are higher order thinking skills (HOTS) on Bloom's taxonomy and the staff can't help but ask about it. I have augmented and redefined how students present their work on infections. It is after this initial seeding of disruption to their status quo that I have begun to break down the resistance! These teachers aren't threatened but are enticed into presenting their lessons in a way that is more student centered and in line with 21st century ideals of collaboration, creativity and redefinition.
Relative advantage is the degree to which the new approach "enhances" the current approach. With regard to introducing technology to classrooms where the practitioner is accomplished; I feel it is key to show the advantage with regard to skills rather than knowledge e.g. allow students to collaborate on a document, evaluate each other's work, create videos, a Google map or a tour in Google tour builder, etc. The choice for students makes it interesting for them and I have had some success with #takeawayhomework and problem based learning using different technologies as a way for the students to present their work.
Regarding the different types of software, I am a fan of the tutorials that augment the teacher's lessons and give the students an alternative view of the content. The current trend of reverse instruction/flipping the classroom with Ed.Ted.com allows me to find videos for the students that presents the content differently to the way I do; it is like they are getting a second teacher. When the students turn up to my lesson and I assess their comfort with the content and they aren't fully confident, I know that I need to give them my take on things so that they will walk out of my lesson with good progression. If the students are good with the content, we can start to do some HOTS and make the best use of class time.
Simulations and games go hand-in-hand in science. The students love the games and if the simulation is part of the game that makes it even better. Science Pirates is just awesome for getting 11 year old students comfortable with the concept of controlled variables. It is important though to give the students questions to complete as they play in order to focus their attention on the learning objective and not just on the fun of the game.
I use several of the Spongelab games with my students, in particular the A level photosynthesis games. Jeremy Friedman of Spongelab has published several articles on the use of the games his company has produced including a recent report (Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N., 2012) where his team describe the mixed successes of using games in class. Their findings suggest that students remember terminology well but struggle to transfer knowledge outside of the game. I have found that the simu-game format of the Spongelab games makes them good for strengthening knowledge after instruction as they give the students the opportunity to visualise and manipulate the molecules they have been learning about.
A current favourite of mine at the moment is Pearson's Mastering Biology series (needs a login) that accompanies their huge textbook. The software is a full online solution with tutorials, animations, e-book and quizzes. The animations are all fully 3d and provide excellent visuals to set the scene for the students and simulate the molecular processes involved. I can teach action potentials and the propagation of an action potential in the post-synaptic membrane without the animations and simulations but the simulation makes the students' understanding progress at a much faster rate. While the use of the simulation to directly instruct the students would be criticised by the contructivists, my students don't have the time available to construct their own knowledge with their A Level exams looming over them in four weeks; they would think I was wasting their time and not focus on the task!
Appropriate software, like appropriate strategies, have to be weighed up for their strengths and weaknesses. If you have time to do constructivist style problem based learning then absolutely go for it! If you have time to allow your students to construct a cell in Mindcraft then go for it. For me, the strategies I choose to use with my students must be supported by the software and I will likely need a combination of the five (drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional games and problem solving software) for any given topic as they represent the varying levels of Bloom's taxonomy or the 21st century skills I want my students expressing.
References:
Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N. (2012). Challenges And Opportunities: Using A Science-based Video Game In Secondary School Settings. Retrieved from: http://www.jenjenson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2012-Science-Based-Video-Game.pdf
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