I use analogies all the time. As I am reading about how technology can be a distraction to my teaching, I ask how can I compete? How can I go up against the newest killer app? Then my analogy mindset kicked in and I asked myself if my classroom were my technology (tablet) then my lesson and teaching strategies could be considered my apps. What’s my killer app, what’s the best thing I do to engage my students?
Unlike 20th century students, kids today have grown up connected to the internet, which means they have had immediate access to information in multiple formats. Why is that important? Kids that are used to getting what they want in seconds via technology. Accessing five different things at the same time seems common place for this generation. I am in competition with a device that can give provide this continuous stimulation. I see it almost every month a new app comes out and the kids are hooked. I feel great when the students remember my lesson the next day and yet they have memorized all the new moves or sequences to the newest app they just downloaded. An article in the Boston Globe states, “Smartphone apps eliminate the wait for a cab, a date, or a table at a hot restaurant. Movies and TV shows begin streaming in seconds. But experts caution that instant gratification comes at a price: It’s making us less patient. The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project sums up a recent study about people under the age of 35 and the dangers of their hyperconnected lives with what sounds like a prescription drug warning: ‘Negative effects include a need for instant gratification and loss of patience.’” School age children require constant engagement. What chance does my worksheet have today?
An article in the Guardian, How Technology Gets Us Hooked states, “Bennett Foddy, who teaches game design at New York University’s Game Center… ”When your mouse cursor moves over a particular box, text will pop up, or a sound will play. Designers use this sort of micro-feedback to keep players more engaged and more hooked in.” A game must obey these microscopic rules, because gamers are likely to stop playing a game that doesn’t deliver a steady dose of small rewards that make sense given the game’s rules.” The most popular games and apps have tapped into this generations need for immediate feedback. I see the bells and whistles going off every other second; mini games on top of mini games inside the apps as rewards for progression. The kids are constantly engaged with something from the app in various ways, sound, images and even in some cases vibrations. Have I tapped into this seemingly simple concept? Can I make my lessons have consistent feedback and use multiple formats to explain my message? Can I be as engaging as the killer apps?
Most of my lessons follow the archaic techniques used on me in school. I do, however, have one technique – one killer app – I can confidently say rivals apps when it comes to garnering engaging my students. My killer app is one of the ways I check for understanding at the end of a class. It works using popsicle sticks each labeled with a student’s name. The popsicle sticks ensure I call on all students but there is lots of built in engagement. In this activity, there is lots of things going on at once. Students stand to answer, others move to select students, others move to mark a board, some students keep time, some are designated cheerers and I am putting visuals or audio to supplement the questions. It appears as organized chaos but it is one of my most productive and enjoyable times of the class for everyone. I am struggling to make all my apps (lessons) something my own kids would download (enjoy) but I believe I see hope in some of my lesson tactics. Do you know what lessons are your killer apps? Do you know why it works? Can you replicate it?
Change is inevitable. Have your lessons changed? Something to think about.
References:
Muther, C. (2013,February 02) Instant gratification is making us perpetually impatient |BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017 from https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/style/2013/02/01/the-growing-culture-impatience-where-instant-gratification-makes-crave-more-instant-gratification/q8tWDNGeJB2mm45fQxtTQP/story.html
Alter, A. (2017, February 28) How Technology Gets Us Hooked | theguardian.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/28/how-technology-gets-us-hooked