Let's ask the kids...

This post is in response to a December 2013 EdSurge post written by Sho Ota, a 9th grade student at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, CA. Sho is a member of a school organization called Virtual Vikings that "informs teachers about current technological innovations in the educational space".

One of his recent assignments was to attend the Tech for School Summit sponsored by EdSurge and held this past November. The goal of the summit was to have participants (educators, students, entrepreneurs, et. al.) "Play, Listen, Explore, and Share" at intersections where technology and learning meet.

As I read the post, several things jumped out at me.
First, Sho mentions that he struggles with language skills. He also mentions that being able to watch videos of the products in actions were of great benefit to aid in his understanding. HE articulated and self-actualized his realization that visualization is a method that improves his ability to learn.

I wonder how often we, as teachers, solicit feedback from students asking them about what works for them and design learning experiences based on that feedback?

I wonder how often students are asked to think about their personal strengths / challenges when it comes to their own learning experiences?

I wonder how often students are allowed to or encouraged to make decisions about how to drive their own learning based on those understandings?

Which leads me to my second revelation...how Sho was able to recommend several products that addressed gaps HE recognizes from s student perspective based on his own curricular / learning experiences.

The first is a tool called Curriculet (formerly Gobstopper), which allows for digital annotation, a dictionary, and progress reports for both educator and learner. The reason it appealed to him was that he sees a connection between interactivity and reading. According to his assessment, Sho states that "literature teachers would be able to highlight specific passages from a novel and have students respond to the close reading assignment" with the benefit of tracks for performance and completion.

A few other recommendations included Ellevation, NoRedInk, The Answer Pad, and Zaption.

As for me, I find that I am often overwhelmed with the sheer number of tools developed / recommended on any given day. But, this is one article that contains recommendations that I am going to take a second look at and push forward to the local experts for what works at the "front-lines" of learning...classroom teachers AND their students.

It would be well worth the time to develop a system to structure pilot learning options based on Sho's experience.
My instinct is that our students who could provide great insight on teaching and learning as well.

PS - On a quick assessment, NoRedInk is the only recommendation that is currently free. All the other recommendations above have cost associated with use. How to strategically allocate funds for these and other tools, I'm sure is on the mind of many educators and administrators out there...since dollars do add up quickly...