The 5 C's and Technology
The 5 C's outline the LCPS Profile of a Graduate and are intended to promote deeper learning experiences. The 5 C's include Collaborator, Communicator, Contributor, Creator, and Critical Thinker. This page describes the 5 C's as well as offers examples of how technology can promote deeper learning in the classroom.
Collaborator
Collaborators work with and learn from others to interdependently solve problems, achieve goals, and complete tasks, while showing respect for diverse perspectives, remaining open to ideas, and learning to compromise. More information about Collaborators can be found here.
Technology that promotes collaboration includes (but is not limited to) Nearpod, Padlet, Schoology, as well as applications within Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. For example, teachers can create a collaborate board within Nearpod for students to respond to prompts with different media, such as text, images, and video. Similarly, Padlet, is a digital notice board that allows students to respond with different media. Schoology affords collaboration through discussion boards and sharing resources through Schoology Groups. Google Apps and Microsoft Office allow for the easy sharing and collaborating of documents, slideshows, spreadsheets, etc. Likewise, digital whiteboards, such as Google Jamboard and Microsoft Whiteboard allow students to collaborate through digital inking. Media production tools, such as WeVideo allow students to create collaborative projects. Flipgrid promotes collaboration as students can respond to each other through video creation.
Communicator
Communicators express ideas clearly, use active listening skills, and anticipate and adjust to audience types, purposes, and settings, using appropriate resources to enhance that expression. More information about Communicators can be found here.
Technology that promotes communication includes (but is not limited to) media production, web page design, digital white boards, and collaboration tools. Media production allows students to communicate a message to an intended audience. For example, students could create persuasive advertisements, public service announcements, demonstrations of a process, historical or literary reenactments, responses to media, and other communicative activities. Likewise, web page design, digital white boards, and numerous collaboration tools allow for students to communicate their intended message and/or findings through different forms of media that appeals to different learning and communication styles.
Creator
Creators generate new ideas and/or build on existing ones by asking questions, thinking flexibly, and learning from experimentation, which leads to innovative approaches and solutions to authentic challenging problems. More information about Creators can be found here.
Technology that promotes creation includes (but is not limited to) media production, web page design, digital white boards, and collaboration tools. Media production allows students to engage in inquiry tasks through creation using digital tools to convey a message using video, text, images, and audio. For example, students could leverage the benefits of different media formats to create persuasive advertisements, public service announcements, demonstrations of a process, historical or literary reenactments, responses to media, and other creative activities to demonstrate their thinking and learning. Likewise, web page design, digital white boards, and numerous collaboration tools allow for students to create brainstorms, problem-solving plans, synthesize media and other sources, and reflect upon their work.
Critical Thinker
Critical Thinkers analyze, question and synthesize ideas to evaluate information, make inferences, draw conclusions, establish patterns and connections, or solve problems. More information about Critical Thinkers can be found here.
Technology can be leveraged to promote critical thinking depending on the teacher's instructional goal. For example, students can synthesize ideas through media production tools by creating videos, infographics, podcasts, and other media. Likewise, students can apply media literacy strategies to evaluate the online information they consume. At the same time, collaboration and digital whiteboard tools allow for students to reflect upon their own biases, assumptions, and brainstorming techniques. Collaboration tools allow students to give and receive feedback acknowledging both the merits and needed improvements of a given product or process.
Contributor
Contributors engage in work to impact the community (local, regional, global) by building awareness, utilizing resources, and/or developing solutions to authentic, challenging problems. More information about Contributors can be found here.
Technology can be leveraged to empower students to make positive contributions to their community and beyond. For example, teachers and students can create and attend virtual field trips to anywhere in the world. Also, students can become aware of recent and civic events through media consumption and respond to those events through media production. By producing and disseminating media messages, they have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to their community. Beyond media production, students can use digital whiteboards and collaboration tools to brainstorm ways they can make a positive impact.