I recently read a book called ‘A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will rule the Future’ by Daniel H. Pink. This book is really thought provoking and discusses the same theory of Alvin Tofflers ‘Three Waves’. Toffler and Pink both state that over the last 150 years, humans have moved through 3 different ‘Ages’ (Agricultural age, Industrial age, and the Information age) and that we are now entering the forth age, the Conceptual Age where humans need to learn to use their creative and emphatic side so that they can be competitive and meet the demands of world in the new ‘age’ that we are moving into.
These reading have led me to think how I can use technology such as blogs to unleash my students creative juices in the subject I teach, Design & Technology.
Some of the ideas that I have come to are the follow:
- Students create their own ‘Virtual Design Notebook’ - Dan Pink suggests that a great way of developing a good understanding of design and how decisions are made is to keep a Design notebook where the owner keeps notes based on good and bad designs that they see wherever they go. Notebooks are a great idea but instead of having a paper based copy, I could have my students create personal blogs of their findings so that other students in the class can also see, learn and discuss/debate good and bad design and also how these designs could be improved – this may possibly motivate my students to develop sketched solutions that could then be posted, discussed and further developed.
- Students create a ‘Virtual Diary’ – Something that my students complete as part of the design Process is to write an evaluation at the end of each project where they reflect on their final outcome, difficulties they came across, how the overcame these, etc. This evaluation is a vital part of the design cycle as it gets students to think about alternative tools, processes and materials that they could have used to produce their product and also how the design could be improved if the project was completed again. By having my students write a virtual diary, they are effectively writing an evaluation and showcasing their work at the end of each lesson, thus forcing them to reflect on their design more carefully whilst also providing a overview for me as to how they are feeling about their project and any difficulties they are experiencing but not discussing in class. Other readers and class mates can also contribute ideas and suggestions to help each other improve their designs.
- What’s good/bad about this design? – I create a blog where students can contribute to postings that I make about products and designs. This would enrich the classroom environment and encourage my students to think carefully about current designs, what is good/bad about them and how could they be improved/developed.
I teach High School students in classes where grade levels are mixed (9th to 12th grade) and knowledge and skill level are highly diverse. Each student has a unique voice and set of experiences that are highly valuable to all in the class and we can all learn from each others experiences and culture.
These are some great ideas. I love that you have your students reflect on their projects to make them aware of their strengths and weaknesses. You mentioned that you have the students make suggestions about other students work. Do you ever come across any problems with students being too harsh? One of my main concerns would be that if one student would completely shoot down the work of another student just because they do not get along with each other. I would think that the students would have to have some guidelines about making appropriate and respectful posts, not only in your situation but any teacher using a blog in their classroom.
ReplyDeleteHi Kayla,
ReplyDeleteYou make a really good point, it is definitely vital to make sure that some 'ground rules' are laid down to the students before they start replying to each others postings, I would make sure that they know how to appropriately use and write on the internet and have an assessment rubric that would give them guidelines on this also.
Regarding students writing harsh comments on each other’s blogs, I don't feel that my students would do this provided they follow the guidelines mentioned above. I often get my students to critique each other’s ideas in class and it always leads to further development of ideas and new ways of challenging the problem. The ability to function as a team is a skill that will always be in demand of graduating students and using these blogs to communicate is giving them a great opportunity to practice, act responsibility and behave maturely.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI love your ideas. Students are very critical of their environment and the "virtual design notebook" would be a place where the critical eye could be put to good use. I think that keeping the notebook online would motivate students to write more than they may normally, due to the medium of a computer. My engineering students are not motivated to write in their engineer's notebooks, because they do not like the physical action of writing. I have found that having them type has greatly impacted the amount of writing I receive from them. Your "virtual diary" sounds as though it could easily function as a student portfolio as well as a diary. I hope you find benefits from these approaches.
Tom -
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of having students reflect on their work as well as having other students add comments about the work. The 'Virtual Diary' seems to be a place where reflection and critique will take place. Both of those strategies will impriove student learning based on a reflection of work. If students reflect on their work, I believe it is more likely they will see the value in the work they have just completed. As with any forum students use, it is imperative the teacher have the opportunity to review student work before it is posted. Another challenge could be the availability of technology to students outside of school. However, it seems that can be solved with the amount of technology available everywhere else.
Thanks Tom, great book recommendation. I really like the idea of using blogs as spaces for permanent creation and self-confrontation. Having a blog where all the student’s ideas and projects are registered is a valuable resource for the class growth. How are you planning to handle the fact that designs posted might be in not definitive versions or just brainstorming? What if someone else comments and critiques something that is not yet done by the creator? How can you guarantee that the thread continues so the complete vision of the design is observed? I’m sure that both the diary and the notebook will be enriched by the class blog you manage. Will students be allowed in a further moment to post products and designs to be commented by their classmates?
ReplyDeleteTom I really like your approach of using the blog to help your students throughout their design process. I also was planning on using my class’s blog as a forum to critique their finished work but I did not consider using it throughout the design process. The "virtual design notebook" is a great way for your students to give each other advice while they are still designing. The "virtual diary" will help the artist communicate their design decisions to their classmates. As I consider how to approach starting a class blog several questions come to mind. Do you make a permission slip for parents and students to sign before blogging? Is this a required part of the course and if so how often do students have to blog? What if parents do not give permission for their child to blog? Will they have to contribute in a more private forum? If you have already thought about how you will approach these issues I would appreciate your suggestions.
ReplyDelete