The most incredible things are going on in my classroom, I get to watch the show as my students guide their own learning. Thanks to Tapped In, my students are conversing with a professor in Colorado, helping students in Taiwan learn more about life in the United States, and blossoming in ways I never expected.
Their explorations of the world started in early September, when a Tapped In member in Taiwan asked if she could have her students of English ask my students questions about American culture. Vivian’s high school level students are watching movies to learn more about Western ideas and ways of life. Through the powers of collaboration that Tapped In offers, our classes have been able to ask and answer questions asynchronously, and learning is going on in both directions. (I had to chuckle when one of Vivian’s kids asked, “Do you have any special dishes for New Years?” and one of my students answered, “No, we use the same dishes because we don’t have any other plates to use.”)
The learning moved to a completely different level later in September, as my students started using PowerPoint for an assignment. Another Tapped In member, Dr. Nathan Lowell, had written a post for his graduate level students with the intriguing title Why PowerPoint is Evil. With a title like that, my students were motivated to read the post (made available through our Tapped In classroom) and wanted to discuss the pros and cons of Dr. Lowell’s arguments.
What better than to ask the author himself? Nate graciously agreed to take time out of his busy day at the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities University of Northern Colorado, and spend time answering the questions of 15 middle school students.
I was fortunate enough to see and hear my kids asking questions and receiving answers that were incredible. Admittedly, they started off at a low level, asking Nate some farily basic questions, but then the magic started: they started asking their questions outloud, getting feedback from other kids in the room, and then modifying their questions based on the feedback from their classmates. They were growing as learners, right before my eyes!
Did they learn more about PowerPoint? Yes. Did they have a chance to ask an author about his opinions? Yes. Did an adult take time to validate and encourage their growth as learners? You betcha!
I’m still mulling over all that went on during that 50 minute class, and I can hardly wait for the next opportunity for my students to interact with the “real world” as they guide their own learning.
