Crash Course in Creating Great Digital Lessons

digital lessons

There are lots of great tech tips out there. Some feature specific tools for digital lessons, while others focus on justifying the use of digital lessons or encouraging reflection and risk-taking. How do we integrate these lessons into our curricula? What are the best practices to guide you? Without purpose, limits, and reflection, creating a structured and effective technology-enhanced lesson is impossible to provide. Digital lessons should provide learners with valuable experience while keeping the planning and grading process manageable for you!

Steps to Create Digital Lessons

Let’s explore some steps for creating a solid, engaging, and effective digital lesson with that in mind.

1. Consider the medium

Do you want to blend learning modalities? Will you provide an autonomous home learning experience or flip your classroom? Do you seek to differentiate lessons by providing learning pathway choices to learners?

Setting your lesson intention begins to narrow down the myriad digital technology options you use to develop a lesson. Considering the purpose also forces you to align the medium with the lesson. Suppose you’re sharing information with absent learners or rewording in-class direct instruction content. In that case, you may consider a simple video or screencast that you can reuse. If you want to differentiate lessons, you use Glogster or a WebQuest generator to guide learners along different pathways about the same material. Maybe you want to move beyond a discussion board and bring in learners’ voices with a tool like VoiceThread or another audio recording and response tool. Your learners can even respond verbally to you!

2. Consider the type of feedback

Learners need feedback to learn from mistakes and grow. You need to provide this information to them in a timely fashion. What will you do? Can the program facilitate feedback? Will they receive collaborative feedback from peers? Will you process quiz or rubric data later?

Considering feedback is simply an educational best practice. How you’ll define success and assess student work when using technology is as critical as considering the medium and tool. There are many different options. For Google Docs-based work, you can use Doctopus. Doctopus is a tool I’ve used extensively in my classes. It takes set-up time upfront, but once everything is moving, it is fairly easy to use, making turn-ins and grading a breeze! Turnitin.com, most frequently used for large projects, can be used for shorter written assignments to ensure the authenticity of student work. It comes with a host of rubric attachments and annotation tools via GradeMark.

No matter what you select, it is important to build space in your rubric to learn the new technology tool. That way, learners are accountable for mastering the technology part of your lesson.

3. Consider the skills

Determine what your learners’ ability levels are. Then, decide how you will help your learners become proficient with the technology you want them to use.

Want them to learn collaboration? Choose a tool that fosters collaboration like Google Slides, Prezi, or VoiceThread. Understand what your learners are comfortable with and give them ample practice opportunities to learn the technology. Provide short lessons and group modelling, then create tasks to scaffold their collaboration ability. Perhaps start with Think-Pair-Share, then an online research group. Knowing what your learners can do and what they need to learn will help you facilitate skills-based learning experiences.

4. Plan the lesson

Once you’ve selected a tool, create a script or pathway. Learn how to use the tools yourself before designing the lesson. This outline will help you pace the lesson and identify content differentiation and technology use areas. Use multimedia – bring in video clips, songs, visual images – and momentary breaks to enable learners to process information.

5. Test the lesson

As educators, we don’t have ample time to plan and test our lessons. However, it is important to ensure your lesson works when using technology. Try testing it and grade your work. Ask yourself: What happens if the video is blocked? Where will you direct learners if a WebQuest link is broken? How will you manage a situation where a learner can’t log in?

6. Teach the lesson

Plan your day so that you are available to troubleshoot for your learners. Monitor their progress, whether you’re online and accessible via email for the beginning of a homework period or you’re actively monitoring your classroom. Pop into Google Docs randomly. Provide re-teaching and redirecting as needed.

7. Reflect

After you’ve taught the lesson, take a moment and reflect on the lesson’s execution. What went well? What was a struggle for the learners? Was the content obscured or enhanced by technology? Did your assessment work?

Maybe your learners need more training with the software or program. Perhaps they mastered the technology, but not the content. Maybe the medium worked for some learners but not others. Take the time to change how you present the information or train specific learners to use the program to maximize future digital lessons.

Finally, consider the following tips. Focusing on these areas will help make your digital lesson a success!

Be organized

    • Plan the lesson ahead of time—test links and check for glitches.
    • Teach learners to collaborate offline before bringing in digital technology.
    • Plan for enough time to train your learners in new technologies and procedures.
    • Establish your expectations for each learner.
    • Scaffold the use of technology as well as the content.

Be creative

    • Guide learners through digital interfaces to open up a new world of vocabulary, grammar, and test preparation data.
    • Give your learners access to the real world, but keep them safe. Create an internal Twitter or Facebook account. Give learners access to real data from accessible sources to analyze.
    • Involve learners in the process of developing digital lessons.

Be realistic

    • Technology can’t always replace everything that we do.
    • Know your class and what they need.
    • Use technology to enhance, not to replace – learners need various skills.

Teach Real-World Entrepreneurship and Business Skills

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is an area of study that is difficult to define. What skills does an entrepreneur need? How can they develop these skills in a typical classroom setting? There is a perception that many entrepreneurs today are self-taught or have a natural knack for generating business ideas and bringing them to life. Upon closer look, entrepreneurs have developed the ability to think critically, identify problems, and generate solutions while creating a team to fill gaps in knowledge or expertise. As an educator, the question becomes, how can my learners develop these abilities?

Identifying problems and critical thinking are key components of any challenging and rigorous curriculum. Through experiences such as Genius Hour, Problem-Based Learning, and Authentic Assessments, educators challenge learners to think critically and creatively. They must identify the problem and create the solution. What a great start!

Alongside soft skills like thinking critically, identifying problems, and generating solutions, learners must be 21st-century literate. Learners must be skilled communicators and synthesize knowledge from across the curriculum. Today, we will move beyond classical educational models to help learners develop new skills for a new era.

21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Learning identifies four imperative outcomes for learners in the 21st century. These include Content Knowledge and 21st Century Themes, Learning and Innovation Skills, Information, Media, and Technology Skills, and Life and Career Skills. The first and second outcomes encompass the traditional mission of K-12 education. More and more, the latter two outcomes are important to all learners, not just those seeking entrepreneurial education.

Information, Media, and Technology Skills

Information, media, and technology skills require the development of literacy in each area and the acquisition of experience. It is challenging to encourage learners to move beyond the classroom to research online. Learners will encounter new forms of information as the news and print media shift to increasingly digital formats. Learners will access this information via a vast array of information technology.

Some school districts have increased their subscriptions to such research tools as Gale, EBSCO, or JSTOR to increase learners’ access to information. Access to updated, peer-reviewed resources provides current information without replacing the text-based sources of the past. Furthermore, relying on various media sources in the classroom can provide a model for learners to approach such sources. Just as writing helps learners create branded information and select how to communicate an idea, media also curates an experience for its users. Learners need to encounter this information. Lastly, technology increases exposure to information and media sources. Whether communication or social media technology, learners must learn the parameters of their tools and how to deploy them best.

Incorporate New Tools and Ideas in the Classroom

And, learners can learn these things in the classroom! English, history, and science classes often require learners to conduct research. Such experiences, although “traditional,” can incorporate new tools and ideas. Moving beyond the encyclopedias and printed texts of old and into the digital research world will enable learners to experiment with finding and using information.

For instance, in a paper on the antiquated text Silas Marner, online sources enable learners to find the early 1900s text, contemporary book reviews, and recent critical interpretations. A history teacher might incorporate media studies into a lecture on the Vietnam War, allowing learners to review historical facts and data against media interpretations that affected the attitude of a nation. By exposing learners to such information through modelling, learners can utilize such analysis in their research. In the same way, a physics or engineering class might create 3D printing models to highlight how design, material, and math can intersect. Giving learners hands-on technology experience in a safe, risk-friendly environment teaches them to push the limits of the technology in new and creative ways.

Life and Career  Skills

Life and career skills encourage learners to think beyond the classroom walls. For instance, a career panel including doctors, physician’s assistants, physical therapists, and athletic trainers can provide an enriching experience and introduce models of professionalism to learners interested in sports medicine. These models can be resources for learners to develop their pathways through careers. Furthermore, integrating internship experiences into the learning environment through Problem-Based Learning is the most authentic assessment a learner could have! Learning through job shadows and reflection, executing tasks in a work environment, and learning new job-specific skills prepare learners to apply the knowledge they have already mastered while opening new doors for exploration.

By preparing our learners to master 21st-century skills, focused on readiness to contribute to the wider world, our learners will become agents of their successes. Empowered learners will learn valuable transferable skills – a hallmark of the entrepreneurial spirit!

A New Twist on the Classics

Just as our learners develop 21st-century transferable skills, they must also develop deep content knowledge. Learners should view the information learned in a classroom as a case study. Certainly, understanding the causes of WWI or how atoms bond in different ways are important pieces of information in their own right. However, the process of learning and connecting these facts to other pieces of information is an even greater goal. By showing a student how to analyze connections between isolated pieces of information and by teaching a class to seek further examples of a given, we challenge them to create new knowledge. This process of knowledge creation is the basis for all entrepreneurial ventures.

The Basics

Without reading, we cannot access knowledge beyond those who speak to us. We cannot generate our own ideas without writing. We cannot solve complex problems involving costs, mechanics, and parameters without quantitative skills. Just as they were important a century ago, these cornerstones of American education hold an important place in entrepreneurial education.

First, learners must apply their critical reading abilities to various texts. Technical manuals, arguments, scientific studies, and fictional prose can inform and inspire ideas. By searching through such texts, learners gain knowledge of others’ past and present endeavours to find solutions.

Next, learners must write. Writing encourages a learner to share ideas. It enables one to process ideas, particularly through the editing process, to review and revise with others. Writing communicates goals and sets parameters. It helps to create a brand. An entrepreneur will be unable to move forward without writing memos, emails, or research documents.

Lastly, learners must describe their work qualitatively and quantify success. In an age where numbers are often the most important element of a project, statistical significance, cost analysis, or mechanical specifications could make or break a product. Although these ideas are commonplace, it is important to reiterate that a learner seeking to develop entrepreneurial skills must focus on the primary tenets of education. Achieving success in gathering, communicating, and analyzing information occurs when learners master and apply these skills in new ways.

Elective and Enrichment Education 

A robust curriculum allows learners to develop content knowledge outside traditional subjects. Electives like marketing, accounting, personal finance, graphic design, engineering, app development, and markets and management enable learners to go beyond math, science, history, and English. Developing content knowledge in such areas is important in the same way as learning in traditional classrooms. Here, learners of different backgrounds can collaborate to market a product or analyze and forecast profits. Learners might learn how to work as a team, but rather than creating a post-presentation on the Cold War, they build a hovercraft. Such electives can encourage learners to develop and produce products and foster creative ideas that don’t quite fit into traditional classrooms.

Enrichment allows the same to occur but focuses more on the classroom topics. Where learners in the classroom might study the birth of European nations, an enrichment program can expose them to the modern European Union and ask the learners to compare the founding principles. Learners could have the opportunity to read Shakespeare and produce a play. These enrichment experiences bring creativity and interdisciplinary work into the classroom. They encourage learners who excel in various domains to move beyond simply reading a text or studying a topic. Now, they can apply their knowledge—such application models how to produce solutions creatively, which is the basis for entrepreneurship.

A Final Word

Structuring an educational program around developing entrepreneurial-minded learners is a difficult task. It adds one more focus to the curriculum. It challenges educators to think outside of the box. And, it asks administrators to look beyond data and into creativity. But, it seems that the schools where this idea is most successful are the ones that created the space to do so. Individuals or teams with skills to identify a problem, the desire to develop a solution, and critical thinking to form viable products and ideas drive entrepreneurship. When we teach learners to communicate effectively, think critically, analyze the world around them, and give them space, opportunity, and support, entrepreneurship education is born.

References

The following served as references for this post. They also provide extensive research and suggestions for administrators interested in incorporating entrepreneurship into a curriculum.

Genius Hour: Breaking Out of the Box

genius hour

Why is Genius Hour such an effective learning model?

A sixth-grade student smiled proudly as she presented her project. She picked the topic, designed the experiment, convinced her mother to purchase the supplies, and spent weeks carefully measuring plant growth in her basement. The entire process and results stood out brightly on the yellow and green construction paper adorning the tri-fold next to her. Proudly, she announced that in moderate amounts, caffeine could enhance the growth and efficiency of highly trained athletes (in her case, plants). However, adding sugar (soda) to the mix does not achieve the same results (the plants rot).

To this day, I remember the results of that experiment along with the speech designed to review the efficacy of fresco restoration in the Sistine Chapel, the research project that studied valuation of objects produced during or to aid performance art, and masters level research on learned helplessness in high achieving learners. Why do these topics remain so clear in my mind? Because I generated the research question, designed the project, and then implemented it. Certainly, mentoring played a large role in the successful outcome of each project, but self-determined projects are among the most memorable tools of learning. I was fortunate to have parents, educators, and professors advocating project-based learning long before the current trend. I would posit, though, that these facilitators and mentors were much more. They were early adopters of “genius hour” principles.

Project-Based Learning

According to Phyllis Blumenfeld, project-based learning requires that a student investigates and answers a learning question. In Alistair Morgan’s “Theoretical Aspects of Project-Based Learning in Higher Education,” he highlights three models of project-based learning that occur within the field of education:

(1) project exercises, in which learners apply the knowledge that they have already acquired to solve a problem,

(2) project component, in which real-world issues are studied and explored in parallel, often independently, to a course curriculum,

(3) project orientation, in which learner projects and direct educator instruction determine the entire program of study becomes supplemental. (Morgan, 1983).

In models one and two, the experts, educators, departments, curriculum designers, and states define the topic, learning target, and project formulation. A talented educator can facilitate learner growth, creativity, and skill-building in these models. Though these projects can produce high levels of learner engagement and are often learner-centred, they are not learner-driven. The research methods and the products, often posters, research presentations, or, in more modern classrooms, web pages, social media feeds, and videos, are mandated by an educator’s instruction.

Model three is different. It shares the primary focus – a project basis – but relies upon the learner’s motivation to launch and develop. In this way, educators may develop authentic tasks for learners to develop the skills necessary to complete the project. Still, the focus is on a learner’s own passion and direction. Learners have the opportunity to define the content and the direction of their investigation. In short, model three looks a whole lot like a new movement called Genius Hour.

Genius Hour

The Basics of Genius Hour

According to its website, “Genius Hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom.” This model makes learner choice the most important element in a classroom. Its origins are murky, but large corporations have used a 20% model for many years. In Megan Allens’ “Genius Hour Makes Great Teachers Redundant,” she states that policies at Google and other large corporations encourage employees to spend 20% of their time on personal interest projects. As a result, employee engagement and productivity purportedly increase.

There’s something about pursuing individual interests that makes a job more pleasant. It allows employees to express the individualism or creativity they need to feel engaged and motivated. Therefore, we might assume that academic achievement and engagement will increase in the school setting by providing learners with a creative outlet. Now referred to as Genius Hour, this designated period allows learners to research a topic and create a product they might share with their class or outside of school. Key features of Genius Hour include a focus on learner autonomy and the lack of strict deadlines.

Role of the Educator in Genius Hour

Think back to the three models of project-based learning. In all three, the educator serves as a facilitator to varying degrees. However, the Genius Hour model requires that educators walk the fine line between director and collaborator. Because learners construct the learning experiences, Virginia Vigil suggests that “teachers…strategically create structure but do not determine the path.” The structure of a Genius Hour itself lends to each individual’s project, encouraging discovery and exploration while ensuring that the process is individual and customized. The educator employing Genius Hour functions as a mentor, asking questions and prompting learners to seek expert resources. It is not possible that the educator masters each concept but models the skills learners need. For instance, Vigil suggests teaching learners to use “web conferring systems” for interviews, to craft “professional emails” to experts, or “provide instruction in the use of software…to support the development of digital presentations.”

Structuring the Classroom

Of course, classroom structure is a key factor in managing learner behaviour and anxiety and promoting a specific classroom culture. Educators must set learners’ expectations in a traditional classroom, account for differentiation, and carefully implement scaffold supports. It is particularly important because, in studies of the Genius Hour model, Elaine Simon found that some learners are “overwhelmed with the amount of freedom of knowledge and personal choice.” Through careful mentoring, however, educators can manage the anxieties of learners.

For instance, skills-based support or careful questioning, similar to what might happen in a traditional classroom, can be modelled individually as the educator monitors the needs of every learner. Furthermore, Simon found that valuing cooperative learning, in which learners define their research and peer review the work of others, is also helpful. In this case, learner-as-expert can come to life, as they are responsible for “critical inquiry, posing central questions developing research plans, … [and] evaluating researchers’ credibility and arguments.” As learners take on greater responsibility, they are more likely to take academic risks. Empowered learners result from clear and concise expectations supported by appropriate scaffolding and differentiation.

Motivating Learners

In Vigil’s report, Genius Hour aims to increase engagement and create a culture of rigour that provides an opportunity for “rich experiences” for learners, not just higher standards. Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success claims that providing learners with a rich experience activates “intrinsic motivations,” thereby supporting achievement and growth. Many studies have supported the idea that a shift to learner-centred teaching models empowers and engages learners. Involving learners more deeply in their learning personalizes the learning process. It enables them to pursue a topic via a unique path. Ultimately, Genius Hour is a natural method of inviting learners to invest in the process of learning. Simon suggests that this is done “by meeting students at their own level and empowering them to surpass that level every step of the way.”

Final Thoughts on Genius Hour

By taking on the responsibility for defining their research questions and developing the project’s path, learners participating in the Genius Hour model learn their way. Transfer and application of knowledge occur at high levels because learners are naturally engaged and interested. Giving up the reins, however, can be difficult. Educator as facilitator is a common role today. However, in the Genius Hour model, the role is scaled back even further, though educators still facilitate curriculum development and maintain the classroom culture and structure. I believe that the following shortlist of considerations are imperative to address when structuring a classroom for Genius Hour:

    1. What resources do learners have access to?
    2. How will learners gain access to experts beyond the walls of the classroom?
    3. What questioning methods are most appropriate to assist learners in pushing their inquiry beyond their current level of understanding?

Thinking back to my self-determined projects, it was the facilitation of home-based experimentation by educators, constant encouragement through failures or dead-ends in research, and guidance in questioning that I remember most clearly. Learners cannot achieve deep learning in a single hour or day. But, by breaking out of the box and moving beyond the walls of our classrooms, our learners will benefit.

Sources