Using Technology and Documentation in the Secondary Context

With the explosion of technology in the classroom, specifically the invasion of smart phone and the use of course shells online the question arises as to how we, as educators, can harness this for good. There is a tremendous amount of potential. The phones that students are bringing to class today have the ability to take pictures, record video, edit and post these to the internet. The course shells offered through “Desire to Learn (D2L)” provide the opportunity to post student work and create discussion groups online.  Exploring how to use these technologies for secondary students to document their own learning seems like an obvious and worthwhile undertaking.

To start, let’s explore the use of the cellphone. One of my first attempts of having students document their understanding using the cameras on their phones involved a grade 11 biology classroom and the concept of photosynthesis. As the concept of photosynthesis is not one that lends itself to inquiry, I used direct instruction to introduce the concept. After having spent some time with the information I asked them to go outside and using sidewalk chalk draw out the light and dark reactions. These are very complicated processes which require a lot of space to diagram out. The students were then asked to take a photo of their work and post it in our course shell with in a discussion area. We ended up with a number of great photos, a great first step. However, for those of you that are familiar with Reggio Emilia and documentation this activity was lacking, what Tiziana Filippini would describe as, the opportunity of the students to examine and learn from their documentation.  Enter the use of the discussion area on our course shell.

 

Attempt number two involved the biological process of cellular respiration. Cell respiration is a process that has a number of steps and involves large separated events connected together by chemical products linking one process to another. I thought that creating a movie would be a great way to demonstrate our understanding. I had the class divide up into groups and provided them with a number of post-it notes. I required that everyone must be in the video but no one may have their face in it. Students used their phones as the device to create the movie on. As a result, the movies were of a variety of hand movements and post-it notes with chemicals written on the post-it notes simulating the process of cell respiration. The videos where then posted in a discussion area on D2L and students were required to comment on the work of others. This to me provided that opportunity to use student work as text, providing that opportunity to learn from each other but there was a lack in the depth of discussion.

My third attempt, and more effective in my opinion, was during our discussion of enzyme activity for our digestion unit. I provided the students with a number of materials (coloured paper clips, oven mitts, lab aprons and string) and asked the students to demonstrate their understanding of a variety of principles associated with enzyme activity by creating a series of photos. The photos were to be a representation of their understanding of how enzymes work and the factors that can affect them. These were then posted on D2L in the discussion area and students were asked to comment on the work of others. This was an improvement over my second attempt as the materials that I provided really required a deeper level of understanding of the concept. Despite being our third attempt, the depth of learning that I was looking for still had not raised.

My final example is from the circulatory system. Students are required to have an understanding of the entire circulatory system, including movement of blood through the heart to the rest of the body, down to the capillary level. To demonstrate their understanding I asked students to write a story from the perspective of a red blood cell traveling throughout the system, starting at the heart and travelling throughout the entire body and returning to the heart. Students were given the option to create a narrative or a comic strip to represent the movement. Students again were asked to post their stories onto a discussion form on D2L. The difference from this activity to the others that I had attempted earlier in the semester involved me requiring the student to respond to the story in the following way: “Comment on the two project(s) that is posted directly below yours on D2L. Your comments must be specific indicating 1) what you really liked about how they displayed their understanding of how the circulatory system works and 2) how that individual could change their text or illustrations to improve your understanding of their thinking on the circulatory system.” By providing these questions there was an enhancement of the discussion for some, but others still were reluctant to share any deep feedback.

 
As a result of the process I have a number of insights regarding technology and its use in documentation at the secondary level. First and foremost, technology provides a great opportunity for documenting student learning. The technology allows for the capture of images which when used can provide deep insight into student understanding of a concept. In addition, digital technology creates a digital record of learning for individuals allowing them to see their own learning progress as well as seeing how others in the class have progressed as well. The opportunity for discussion and using student work as text is enhanced through the medium as students post and comment on each other’s work. Finally, the technology by itself is insufficient to act as a documentation of learning. Students need to be guided and prompted throughout the process of documentation. Bringing documentation to the secondary context is worthwhile and using technological tools that students are familiar, provides a great stepping stone, enhancing students understanding of their own learning.