Blooms Taxonomy and Digital Technology
Blooms Taxonomy is a classification of the levels of
learning thought to be important in the learning process. The classification
system was presented in 1956 by educational psychologist, Benjamin Bloom (Overbaugh, n.d.). Blooms taxonomy is broken down into
6 levels which include Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing,
Evaluating and Creating. (Overbaugh,
n.d.) In the analyzing level, students
distinguish between different parts of the task or method. Blooms
Taxonomy was reimagined as a wheel that relates a variety of verbs and
activities associated with each level of thinking. Allan Carrington
created a fantastic modification to the Blooms Taxonomy wheel (shown left) that includes
technology apps associated with each level of thinking.
Scott Rocco, Brad Currie and William Krakower of a New Jersey School District took Carrington's wheel and created a Google Doc summarizing the Apps found in the chart. Their document contains links to access the apps and how they can be used to support Bloom's levels of thinking and learning.
So, the first battle is solved. We know what apps apply to what level of Blooms thinking, but, how do we integrate these into our lessons when our classrooms are still stuck in 1996? Our classrooms and schools have a wide variety of resources and technology configurations ranging from the one computer classroom to schools with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs. Each of these configurations has pros and cons.
The One Computer Classroom
Most classrooms I have been in have at a minimum, a computer attached to a projector. This can be used to show video clips and movies to the students. It can also be used to play class wide games and collect class responses. I have often heard from educators though that it is a detriment when trying to implement individualized learning and assigning digital based project assignment. While I agree it poses a challenge, with a bit of planning and creativity even this most basic setup can be use to create an interactive classroom environment. Some suggestions for using the one computer classroom are as follows:
- Assign roles to students in the class and take turns having students operate the mouse
- Students can take turns entering their responses for activities into a database that projects the class responses on the screen
- Create class wide word clouds, mind maps, etc
- If your classroom computer is stationary at the rear of the room, create a schedule with time limits for students to access it
- Use the computer as a part of a learning station during an activity so groups of students are moving through different stations.
- Skype as a class with an expert or another classroom in the world
- Partner with team teachers and make the single computers in each classroom portable on carts to be able to share between classrooms as needed.
Small Cluster of Classroom Computers (3-10 devices)
Other classrooms have not one but three to four computers stationed in the room. This configuration again limits the amount of individualized learning that can occur. However, collaboration is an essential learning skills that students need to learn in order to be successful. Utilizing more group based assignments and using the classroom computers as work stations that students rotate through as part of a project will facilitate a collaborative learning environment.
- Classroom games can be played as teams with groups responding via computer
- Collaborative work via Google Apps
- Groups can work on projects which are then submitted to the teacher and projected on the larger screen for peer assessment.
Computer or iPad Cart (20-25 devices)
Classrooms with access to a computer cart or iPad cart with many devices have an advantage if the number of students equals the amount of devices. One of the disadvantages I have observed with using iPad/computer carts has been devices that aren't charged from the previous class that used them, not all the devices have the correct app on them and the time it takes to load each devices. Teachers need to plan in advance of using the devices to ensure that the appropriate app for the activity has been downloaded. A larger issue is the charging of the devices. Taking the time to ensure that students have plugged the devices back in after use will go along way to assisting the next person who has reserved the cart. Always have a back up plan no matter what you do! But, what happens if you have more students than devices? Simple, more group work. Students could choose to work independently or pair lower achieving students with higher achieving students to allow for peer tutoring.
Computer Resource Room (30 computers; 1:1)
The majority of schools I have been in have computer/resource rooms set up with the computers all along the walls so the students have their backs to you most of the time. How can you instruct them when they are facing away from you. Personally, I find the best use of computer/resource rooms to be when having students work on independent projects. So that they can individually research, edit, publish etc. I typically use them after I have previously instructed students and introduced the project as a whole class.
Bring Your Own Device Programs (1:1)
I have mixed feelings about the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs. While it is a cheaper option for school districts to not have to purchase so much hardware, how do you make it equitable for those students who are financially at a disadvantage? How do you handle IT support for so many different devices some of which may not have internet access. I do not think there is a simple answer to these problems. Jason Twaddle summarizes the benefits of BYOD programs in his blog post on Marco.
I have summarized my pros and cons for each scenario in the following Google Doc. Whether you have just the single computer classroom or a BYOD program, with creativity, planning and some innovation you can create an interactive learning environment for your students.
References
Carrington, Allan (2015, January 3) The Padagogy Wheel V4.1, Retrieved from Unity College: http://www.unity.net.au/padwheel/padwheelposter.pdf
Twaddle, Jason (n.d.) How Can Schools Benefit from Bring Your Own Device Programs, Retrieved from Marco: http://blog.marconet.com/blog/how-schools-can-benefit-from-bring-your-own-device-byod-programs
Rocco, Scott; Currie, Brad; Krakower, William (2015) Blooms Taxonomy Apps, Retrieved from Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dlcbtNUwun1tG4-2yQTnbZjLYouAqu_4kB5q2RWeD0U/edit?usp=sharing
I think you are totally right about charging with all these items. Most likely when you only have PCs or computers that are plugged into the wall you deal with the issue of other students not only not charging the technology but you might have students who may have been messing with settings on laptops/computers which can also cause issues for the teacher and other students.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think about the kids changing the settings issue! I am usually so frustrated by the batteries we never get that far, but kids changing the setting is so annoying! Especially when they figure out how to change the key sounds just to be annoying! In theory I love the idea of mobile carts that can share resources but we don't often add in the "kids" factor!
DeleteThis is a very well-crafted post! I like your honesty and your balanced perspective on the issues affecting technology and budgeting for devices. Thank you!
ReplyDelete