When Technology Takes a Sick Day: No-Prep Strategies to Deepen Learning Without Devices
One of my favorite things as an instructional technology coach is to be in the building when the internet goes down.
In case you missed my tone, just roll your eyes while you say "favorite," and you should catch it pretty quickly.
I say it with the full acknowledgement that my frustrations are not nearly at the level of the teachers who are currently trying to teach a lesson that hinges on technology being fully functional. It sucks when you're in that spot. It really does.
In the moment, it's really easy to just throw up your hands and be done with it all. However, just because the internet stops doesn't meaning learning has to. In fact, if the ability for students to learn in your classroom can be completely halted by devices going down, it could be worthwhile to take a look at the role technology plays in your classroom.
Good teachers are good teachers regardless of technology. Sometimes we get so used to it that we forget about that. We get into a routine where the class basically runs itself, which can be awesome if it's done properly and still emphasizes things like collaboration, problem-find and solving, etc., but it can also be indicative that we are relying too heavily on technology and creating an environment that functions essentially like an online class. If that's the case, why are kids there at all?
So, sometimes despite how frustrating it can be, technology going down can be an opportunity for us to reconnect with our students and help our students reconnect with each other. It's like someone literally hit the reset button, or in the case of my school today, a construction worker broke a power line that powers most of the infrastructure of our entire district's network.
That happened around 11:00 today, meaning we still had three more hours of school. I always feel awful when something like this happens because I feel responsible for the fact that teachers are creating lessons utilizing technology. To help (mostly my conscience, but also hopefully other teachers) I sent out a list of some quick no-prep, no-tech strategies that you can use to keep the learning going and deepen students' understanding.
I figured it could be worthwhile to share, as these are my go-to strategies. Without further ado, here they are.
This isn't the full explanation of what stronger-clearer discussions are, but it's a good adaptation of them to focus specifically on academic vocabulary. To check out the original, head over to Jeff Zwiers' site.
When all else fails, use it as an opportunity to build relationships in your classroom. Play silly games, do "Would You Rather?" questions, have a class rock-paper-scissors tournament, etc. Never underestimate the value of having fun together.
Just please please please please don't view losing your technology as losing a day of learning. Learning isn't synonymous with computers, and for a lot of our students today, some of the most important learning they need to do involves stepping away from a device and looking inside themselves.
There's a reason I try to spend my weekends out of cell service range. It helps me reconnect with what really matters.
As teachers, let's take the same approach when we lose internet in our classrooms.
In case you missed my tone, just roll your eyes while you say "favorite," and you should catch it pretty quickly.
In the moment, it's really easy to just throw up your hands and be done with it all. However, just because the internet stops doesn't meaning learning has to. In fact, if the ability for students to learn in your classroom can be completely halted by devices going down, it could be worthwhile to take a look at the role technology plays in your classroom.
Good teachers are good teachers regardless of technology. Sometimes we get so used to it that we forget about that. We get into a routine where the class basically runs itself, which can be awesome if it's done properly and still emphasizes things like collaboration, problem-find and solving, etc., but it can also be indicative that we are relying too heavily on technology and creating an environment that functions essentially like an online class. If that's the case, why are kids there at all?
So, sometimes despite how frustrating it can be, technology going down can be an opportunity for us to reconnect with our students and help our students reconnect with each other. It's like someone literally hit the reset button, or in the case of my school today, a construction worker broke a power line that powers most of the infrastructure of our entire district's network.
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| Actual video of the incident... |
That happened around 11:00 today, meaning we still had three more hours of school. I always feel awful when something like this happens because I feel responsible for the fact that teachers are creating lessons utilizing technology. To help (mostly my conscience, but also hopefully other teachers) I sent out a list of some quick no-prep, no-tech strategies that you can use to keep the learning going and deepen students' understanding.
I figured it could be worthwhile to share, as these are my go-to strategies. Without further ado, here they are.
1) Know / Need to Know Discussions
This is a simple discussion strategy that can help with student metacognition and using recall to transfer information to long-term memory. To do it, students need a piece of paper with a T-chart on it. Before the discussion, they write down as much as they can about the current topic of study on one side of the T-chart. Once that time is up, students then move around the room to find partners. Once they have a partner, they switch papers. The partner then adds as much information as possible on the right side. Afterwards, everything on the left is what students already know and the right side is everything they need to learn or study.2) Stronger-Clearer Discussions
This is another discussion strategy, but this one is more centered on developing academic language. To start, pair students up and then give them a prompt to talk about. A timer will help here, as you can require each partner to talk for a set amount of time. After each partner goes, have them get new partners. Then, give them a word bank that they will try to use for this round. Students will discuss the same prompt, but this time they will need to incorporate the academic vocabulary into their answer. You can continue this process, adding a word or two each round, as many times as needed. At the end, it can help to have students write down their final response and turn it in for accountability and to see how they did with the academic language.This isn't the full explanation of what stronger-clearer discussions are, but it's a good adaptation of them to focus specifically on academic vocabulary. To check out the original, head over to Jeff Zwiers' site.
3) A New Perspective (Narrative Storytelling to Reinforce Content)
This one is fairly simple and requires students to discuss processes or events from a new perspective. To do this, provide students with the following prompt (with the blanks filled in, obviously): "Describe _____ from the perspective of _______." For example, in social studies, you could have students describe a major Revolutionary battle from the perspective of a horse. For science, you could describe an ecosystem from the perspective of a predator. I will typically have them write a draft and then share them in small groups. It's a fun way to reinforce content by forcing students to make new connections to content and cement the process or event in their memory by leveraging the power of storytelling.When all else fails, use it as an opportunity to build relationships in your classroom. Play silly games, do "Would You Rather?" questions, have a class rock-paper-scissors tournament, etc. Never underestimate the value of having fun together.
Just please please please please don't view losing your technology as losing a day of learning. Learning isn't synonymous with computers, and for a lot of our students today, some of the most important learning they need to do involves stepping away from a device and looking inside themselves.
There's a reason I try to spend my weekends out of cell service range. It helps me reconnect with what really matters.
As teachers, let's take the same approach when we lose internet in our classrooms.