As students are provided assignments that require cognitive skills or high order thinking, what do you typically see? A drop in participation. On the flip side, when students are offered to do something fun that doesn’t require much thinking, you see a spike in participation. As teachers we constantly are trying to find the right balance between the two. This is the challenge at hand in the traditional learning environment.
So how can technology enhance the learning process at schools? Well, it’s not simply technology, it is in fact the RIGHT technology. What do mean by “right technology”? The right technology enables high levels of cognition AND high levels of participation. It is not an either or, it is not an inverse relationship between these two key elements. The right technology breaks the traditional barrier and drop the balancing act that teachers too often struggle with in their instruction.
So what’s the litmus test? There is a lot of technology that is available to incorporate in the classrooms of today. Ask yourself this guiding question:
Does the technology ensure higher cognition AND higher participation with students?
Or is it just higher cognition through more advanced content or it is just providing higher participation through game like interface but doesn’t demand higher order thinking skills.
We believe in curricular programs that use technology to enhance cognition, participation and provide continuous feedback to both students and teachers. Technology that attempts to remove teachers are doomed, since effective educational solutions must take a holistic approach to learning.
