In a learning environment choosing the right technology tool can
be overwhelming. Educators are trying to meet the needs of every type learner
and in the process find themselves in scenarios where their well thought out
plan fails. The following is a scenario where the chosen technology tool does
not fit the desired outcome.
After attending a professional development a first grade teacher
learned about Wordle. Wordle is a web based presentation tool. She decided to have her students take their
spelling words and create a Wordle.
She scheduled a time to use the computer lab, had prior knowledge
that the link to the site was on the school web site, and made enough copies of
the spelling list for each student.
The students were then seated in front of a
computer and advised to go to the wordle site. Many hands began to raise and
students began approaching her. She had the knowledge of where to find the link
on the school site, but the students weren’t. After several minutes of confusion,
she approached every computer and took the students to the desired site. Then
once again hands began to go up. Now that the students were on the site they
had no clue what to do next. By the time she was able to give instructions on
what to do it was time to go.
In order for this scenario to have been a success the educator
should have taken into consideration the student’s prior knowledge of
navigating the school site. A prior introduction is required in order for
students to understand navigating. Then upon entering the lab the educator
should have placed students at their assigned computers and directed their
attention to the front of the room. Once she had their attention, she then should
project a computer onto the Smartboard and walked them through the steps to finding
the link. This would have allowed the students to see each step one at a time
in order to complete the task.
