Digital Communication In The Classroom
"If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough" -Albert Einstein.
As a trait of the 21st Century student, communication is probably the most prevalent. However, the generational disconnect creates communication barriers between the student, skilled in digital ways and tools that serve their social interactions, and the teacher lacking the said skills. To overcome generational miscommunication, and prepare our students for successful futures we need to educate them on effective and comprehensive ways to express their point of view, and how to use their creativity and technological skills to build powerful means for their communication purposes.
When explaining our view on information to our peer group we should be able to synthesize, organize and analyze the content, thus demonstrating our comprehension of the matter. Because we are social beings, peer communication is our preferred means to express our points of view, criticize, or casually create awareness of topic. Engaging conversation, whether face-to-face or digital, spurs personal interpretation, and opens the topic for further debate. This is the beginning of the "application of concepts” that we as teachers strive to teach our students to do.
Here are a few means that encourage conversation, while building strategic thinkers:
Storytelling
You can facilitate discussions about the topics presented in a form of a story, as a way to make abstract or conceptual content more understandable. Research has shown that the use of multimedia in teaching helps students retain new information as well as aids in the comprehension of difficult material. Students who participate in the creation of digital stories enhance their communications skills by learning to organize their ideas, ask questions, express opinions, and construct narratives.
• The purpose of storytelling is to communicate a personal reflection on the topic. Remind your students to begin with the end in mind - what are they trying to say - rather than how
• Once the concept they wish to communicate is clear in their mind, they can choose the steps to express it
• Tools come in varied degrees of difficulty; our students come with variable educational technology skills (typing, online research, etc) as well as multimedia skills. Choose approachable tools - the focus is not the tool, but the content expressed through it.
• Because we bank on the social interests of our students to reach them, their collaboration on storytelling projects is vital, as it is conducive to understanding content in various contexts (from peer discussions)
Backchanneling
Our students' most favorite activity is shorthand - in their words, txt. They develop quite the dexterity and comprehension for abbreviations. This new vocabulary is acquired rapidly, and is facilitated by all social media sites. To support their need for additional communication the teachers can establish a backchannel where they answer questions and interact with the students. The advantage of a backchannel is that vocabulary and concepts that may be difficult to grasp can be easier addressed in the chat box, rather than via raised hand and single-out procedure, which is the traditional question and answer. By allowing them to ask questions about the proposed topic, the teacher can assess the students' understanding, and plan accordingly.
Video Essays
If there is a sure way to a child or teen’s heart, then video is it. They can watch them, produce them, critique them, direct them, and act in them in the same time. Provide them with rubric for quality (like this one) and ask them to be your film directors. As you steer them in along the content path, while giving them free reign of expression and choice of tools, they can give you your own video library of tutorials, concept explanations, model essays, and “engage activities” to kick-start your future lessons. Besides, there’s no funner thing than watching a photosynthesis rap video with correct vocabulary and lots of word spelling.
Blogging
Creativity is stifled by the hardship of the process; in other words, as the student writes for you, without any further implications, such as a real audience, motivation and attention to detail diminish. The student attempts to write the 4-5 paragraphs that you requested, out of need for a passing grade. Without the audience and peer feedback there is no real motivation for them to write. Blogging offers the teacher the possibility to steer a discussion in a set direction, and then allow the student to explore on their own, to develop their own writing style. Appropriate peer feedback, as motored by the teacher, jump-starts the need for popularity, which builds confidence, which motivates the student to pay more attention to their grammar and syntax, as well as the clarity and power of the message that they are trying to send. It’s a win-win; the teacher develops strong and organized thinkers who are not afraid to show-off their penmanship, and the students become writers for life.