Risk taking in education is nothing new. For centuries, teachers have been willing to push the envelope, leap over obstacles and climb any mountain in the name of reaching our learners and making school meaningful for all students. As educational technology has begun to change the landscape of our schools, some teachers have charged ahead and jumped in with both feet, but others are slowly testing the waters and learning how to work outside of their comfort zone. These teachers consider themselves to not be very techy and in many cases, would call themselves technophobes. These are the teachers I want to celebrate! They are taking risks, putting themselves out there, and doing things that scare them. And they are doing all of this because they want to engage and empower their students!
With this series, I am going to feature different Lebanon City School teachers that are working outside of their comfort zones and taking big risks for their students. First up, Roxana King:
Roxana King – Family and Consumer Science Teacher
Roxana, a long-time teacher at Lebanon High School, is one or two years away from retirement. Her course load this year is foods, careers and consumer economics. I especially love working with her on cooking days and have had more than my fair share of fudge when I go to visit her. Roxana first reached out to me because she wanted to get a better handle on managing her Google Drive, her email, and just general computer processes.
During one of our work sessions, Roxana began to talk about how she really wanted to find a better way to engage her learners. She was looking for digital opportunities that would get students to participate in their own learning and would allow them to show what they know throughout the learning experience, not just at the very end. Roxana also wanted her students to have access to course information from anywhere so that they could review concepts whenever they needed, not just during the time they were in the four walls of her classroom.
After looking at the many different edtech tools available, Roxana settled on Edpuzzle and Quizlet.
EdPuzzle:
When I worked with Roxana, she told me about video content that she shares with her students. This video content is really well done and has fantastic and applicable information, but she knows that when she shows the videos in class, the students tend to tune out and not really internalize or engage with the information. When she discovered Edpuzzle, she immediately felt that this tool could be a game changer for her. With a little bit of practice and a lot of patience, Roxana learned how to use the voice over and quiz features in the program. She now feels that her students are much more engaged with the content since they know that there will be checks for understanding scattered throughout the videos. The feature that allows students to rewatch video portions over again until they understand the concept is an especially powerful learning tool. In addition, students that were absent in class (or students that just need a little review) can access the videos from their personal devices at any time of the day or night.
Quizlet:
Roxana’s use of Quizlet is really exciting. Students are taking concepts covered in class and creating their own flashcards. Once they have created their own, they crowdsource them and share them with the entire class. As a group, they go over the flashcards and pick the ones that they feel best illustrates and defines the concept. Then, using the quiz and game features in Quizlet, the students play games and take quizzes over the concepts. Since the students have to create the flashcards and identify which cards best illustrate a concept, they are taking ownership of the material taught in class. It is no longer Roxana handing them the answers and hoping they take the time to learn it. They are engaging and creating, which is the fastest path to understanding.
I am so proud of the work that Roxana is doing and how she is pushing herself. When I say that Roxana is not a techy teacher, I am not exaggerating by any stretch of the imagination. It takes a lot of hard work and patience for her to figure out how to use these programs, but she is sticking with it because she wants ways to have her students engage more authentically with the material she is presenting in class. And for somebody who is nearing the end of their career to jump in with both feet and take these kinds of risks, I think she is amazing!
EdTech Awesomeness 