I think it is problematic to consider “technology” as a learning strategy as Tate does. The problem with this approach is highlighted by the fact that Tate, like many others, means “digital technology” when she refers to “technology,” but digital technology deserves no more reverence in learning than the other tools we use, like pencils. We would laugh at a teacher who asked, “How can I use pencils in my teaching?” but everyday teachers ask this question about “technology.” Technology is not a question, it is an answer. “How can I include someone at another geographic location in our discussion?” Digital technology is the answer. “How can we extend this conversation beyond the limits of our physical space and time?” Digital technology may be the answer. In other words, I do not see “technology” as a strategy, but as a tool.
Application: Most of the teaching and learning I’ve done in the last 10 years included the use of digital technology in some way. One example is the Financial Security for All Twitter Chats and YouTube Live discussions. Our team wondered how we could get a diverse and distributed group of personal finance experts and consumers to engage in a focused conversation around a particular topic. We decided to try Twitter chats. A Twitter chat is a synchronous discussion that anyone on Twitter can engage in. The individual tweets are joined together using a common hashtag. Our Twitter chat is a facilitated discussion in which we pose questions to the community and individual Twitter users respond. By including the hashtag in their responses, the individual Twitter users become a part of the discussion.
The Twitter chats were successful, but they were exclusive to those who understood how to follow and contribute to the conversation. In order to be more inclusive, we now supplement the Twitter chat with a YouTube Live discussion. Using YouTube Live, we are able to connect personal finance from around the country (New York, Michigan, Idaho, Florida, North Dakota and more) for a panel discussion. Anyone can access the live discussion through YouTube and contribute to the discussion using YouTube Live Chat.
Although there are very few people who simultaneously participate in the Twitter Chat and the YouTube Live, it’s still important to us to tie these groups together. Our facilitators tweet about the conversation happening in YouTube Live and one of our panelists follows the Twitter Chat and shares highlights from that discussion on YouTube Live. Our hope is that this effort will lead participants to feel more like one community and encourage them to crossover and try their hand at both technologies.
Assessment: Insights-Resources-Application (IRA) (Barkley & Major, 2016, pp. 164-166)
We are currently assessing the Financial Security for All Twitter Chats and YouTube Live discussions using an online survey that addresses participants’ reaction to the experience and their learning through the experience. This is a summative assessment that relies on the participants’ immediate response.
I think we could alter the survey to use a slight variation of the IRA assessment. We could ask participants to share their key insight(s) from the discussion whether they were on the Twitter chat or YouTube Live. Rather than asking participants to share additional resources, we would ask them to share a resource they heard about through the Twitter Chat or YouTube Live. Several resources are usually shared during these discussions. Finally we could ask specifically how participants plan to apply their insights or the resources in managing their own finances or in their work education or counseling others.
References
Barkley, E. F., & Major, C. H. (2016). Learning assessment techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Tate, M. L. (2012). “Sit and Get” won’t grow dendrites: 20 professional learning strategies that engage the adult brain. (2nd Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.