Engaging, Enhancing, and Extending Learning



Engaging, Enhancing, and Extending Learning

Engaging Student Learning with Technology

What does it mean to engage students? Engaging students means the teacher trying to find a way to motivate or interest disengaged students. When teachers engage students using technology, it provides motivation to the students to actually do their work and be able to focus on the assignment at hand with less distraction.  When students are engaged in a topic, they actually want to learn about it and absorb the information. If students are presented the information in a way that can help them understand it then the learning environment becomes more enjoyable as well. For example, in a health class, the teacher could be going over a lesson on healthy relationships and when the lesson is done, the teacher can put some scenarios about different types of relationships up on the Smartboard and the students can use their phones to text in the respond to the scenarios at hand to see if they think that it is a healthy relationship or if it is not a healthy relationship.  This gives them the freedom to have their phones out in class and use them in a productive way.

Enhancing Student Learning with Technology

What does it mean to enhance learning? Enhancing learning is using technology to develop understanding of learning goals that could not have been accomplished without those bonds. When teachers use technology to enhance education, they use it to compliment the lesson for the day and help the students learn and understand the lesson better. For example, to accompany the lesson in health, the teacher could give them an assignment on Glogster to go through which might include various videos and activities to check understanding of the lesson. This gives them the ability to practice applying the material in the lesson online instead of on paper.

Extending Student Learning with Technology

What does it mean to extend learning? Extending learning is using technology to learn outside the classroom walls and continue to grow academically after they leave school.  Teachers can assign homework for the students to do that involves using technology such as apps on iPads and iPhones.  Students can take pictures and videos to upload to the class website for a project or as evidence that they visited somewhere that they were suppose to outside of class one day. For example, to accompany a basketball lesson in physical education, the teacher could assign the students to take a video of a basketball clip on Sportscenter and upload it to blogger and write a blog about what the players did right and what the players did wrong as far as the skills and techniques used.

It is critical that all of these elements are used by teachers so that students can get motivated and interested in learning.  Teacher can be more creative with assignments based on the technology that is available to them and the students as well. 


References

Bonnett, Cara. (2011, December 9). Capturing and extending learning through mobile technology. Retrieved from http://today.duke.edu/2011/12/mobilecapture

Keren-Kolb, L. (January 01, 2013). Engage, enhance, and extend learning! Learning and Leading with Technology, 40, 7, 20-27.  

Nesbitt, Barbara. (2007, November 28). A Vision of K-12 Students Today. Retrieved September 3, 2013. From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8&feature=youtu.be

Richtel, Matt. (2012, November 1). Technology changing how Ssudents learn, teachers say. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/education/technology-is-changing-how-students-learn-teachers-say.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

[Image of students using iPads in class]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.padgadget.com/tag/classroom/

[Image of students using a Smartboard]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/newslog/default,date,2010-02-07.aspx