26.5: Tools - How Students Engage in Techno Expression

“Technology is not an image of the world but a way of operating on reality. The nihilism of technology lies not only in the fact that it is the most perfect expression of the will to power … but also in the fact that it lacks meaning”. – Paz (1967)

We have spent a good deal of time talking about expression, but not as much about technology. For this topic to work, it needs both. There are a number of technologies—asynchronous and synchronous, print-based and media-based, old and new—that comprise a wide variety of choices to engage students. The rapid change in technology will not slow down, so we have to adopt strategies that are based in the learning objectives, rather than the technology itself. That way, we can adjust the technology required to complete assignments, but the students are still required to demonstrate the same types of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Maureen O’Rourke from the Australian National Schools Network wrote an article about taking a “Multiliteracies Approach” to engage students. In the article, O’Rourke (2002, para. 2) describes three levels of student engagement: technical, practical, and critical. To help students reach the highest level, critical engagement, she recommends that we “provide them with opportunities to both express themselves and make sense of the world through multiple modes of communication” (O’Rourke, 2002, para. 3). There are quite a few tools at our disposal to help our students become multi-literate.

Threaded Discussion Forums

Threaded discussion forums provide some of the best opportunities for techno expression. Forums allow students and instructors to continue classroom discussions when time runs out, to start conversations about class readings or assignments, to review course material before tests or evaluations, and more. Being asynchronous, students can reflect before they submit their ideas, comments, or feedback. This levels the playing field for students who speak English as a second language and students who are not savvy with technology. Students can take their time to construct an argument, review their ideas, and even run spell-check before they actually post it in the forum.

Note

To encourage students to share different points of view, ask them to discuss the significance of the course material in relation to current events or to their personal lives. This works for almost every discipline. Give students specific expectations, such as what they should accomplish with their threads (e.g., explain a concept in their own words, react to a statement, contradict an expert, etc.), how long their discussion thread should be (e.g., number of paragraphs or words), whether or not they should refer to the readings, how many replies they should submit, and when it is due.

Chats

In some ways, chats can resemble a classroom setting in both good and bad ways. In the “good” column, chats are live, synchronous activities that gives participants a sense of being in the same place, even if they are all sitting at home with a cup of coffee and a cat in their laps.

In the “bad” column, only a small percentage of students get a chance to express their views in the classroom. The same is true for chat sessions. Factors that contribute to this in chats include, but are not limited to, social dynamics involving students who dominate conversations, cultural tendencies not to speak up in public, reluctance to contribute due to language difficulties, poor typing skills, or shyness. As an instructor, it becomes your job to facilitate discussions that give everyone a chance to add their ideas to the conversation. (Review the tip and example in the section on synchronous methods of expression above, for facilitation and assignment ideas to try.)

Web Pages and Graphics

Static web pages provide a space for faculty and students alike to state their views on academic and non-academic topics. Some learning management systems (LMS) provide space for students to create web pages. Many schools and universities now provide web space in conjunction with email account. If appropriate, ask students to create web pages related to your course material.

Consider asking students to engage in creative expression with applications like Adobe Photoshop or other graphic creation and editing tools. For example, students can create a digital collage to show how they feel about a topic. In the past this type of assignment was done with magazines, scissors, and glue. Now students can do it with magazines and scanners, web image search engines, Photoshop, and colour printers. Even if you ask students to draw something with paper and pencil, they can scan it and post it to get feedback from other students.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

At the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, the Advanced Multimedia class requires students to create a self portrait using Frida Kahlo’s paintings as an inspiration (http://www.mcsm.net/art/frida.html).

Before assigning students to create web pages and digital images, you should check to make sure that they have access to the hardware and software required to make them. There are several free web page editing software applications, such as SeaMonkey Composer by Mozilla.

Wikis and Blogs

Wikis, or collectively built web pages, provide students an opportunity to collaborate on group or class projects. Since anyone can edit the wiki pages, it is a good idea to set some ground rules, similar in nature to the concept of Netiquette described above. Some common wiki rules include not deleting anyone else’s contributions without permission, avoiding slang and acronyms, and contributing only original material.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Techno expression assignment using wikis

Wiki assignments that encourage expression might be similar to those described above for static web pages, or they might be more complex.

Wiki assignment example for a seminar in intellectual freedom at Indiana University: In the assignment, students are asked to do two things:

• Make a wiki entry on a controversial intellectual freedom issue

“For the first part, you will collaborate with another person and write a wiki entry on a controversial intellectual freedom issue that is discussed either in class or in the readings … This entry should have three main sections. In the first section, clearly introduce and define the issue that you are exploring and explain its significance. In the second section, develop the main argument of the entry. Explain both sides of the issue (you explain one side and your partner explains the other). Try to offer the strongest case for your side of the issue. Make use of other resources in your entry, including articles and websites, where appropriate. In the third section, take an informed position on the issue. This means giving your opinion and supporting it in some way. You will express your opinion as will your partner. You and your partner can agree, in which case you can write this section together, or you can disagree, in which case each writes his or her own third section” (Rosenbaum, 2006, para. 72–73).

Contribute to at least two other wiki entries

“For the second part of the assignment, you will contribute to at least two other entries in the wiki. This will involve posting your informed opinions, clarifications, additions or suggestions for deletions to other entries. In your posting, be sure to make reference to relevant materials whether from the course or your other reading” (Rosenbaum, 2006, para. 75).

Students can and will go beyond the assignment parameters. For example, look at the results of a wiki project assigned by co-professors Michael Jones and Gail Benick. In the winter of 2006, they taught a second-year survey course in communication, culture and information technology through a joint Sheridan/University of Toronto–Mississauga degree program. Jones and Benick (2006) reported that:

“the approximately 140 students of CCIT 205 created 598 pages through nearly 9,000 edits. In comparison, as noted on the Wikispace main page, the top public Wikispaces average about 1,000 edits a month. The level of activity was simply mindboggling.

“More important than these numbers, however, was the strong student evaluation of their Wikispace experience. Students took it upon themselves to create an assignment feedback page separate from course requirements to share their experiences. Even without being formally required to share their experiences, 54 students did—and with a few lukewarm exceptions, evaluations were positive, sometimes extraordinarily so” (para. 11–12).

Interestingly enough, this was an experiment for these instructors! They entered the world of wikis with little idea of what to expect, and the students responded by creating a community. One of the many student comments pulled out the theme of this chapter:

“As we progress further and further into an ‘interconnected’ environment, from WebCT, initially, to Wiki spaces, there becomes more room for communication, expression and collaboration. I find it interesting how technology that may appear superfluous, superficially, can actually bring people together to share, learn and grow. The possibilities of these types of applications in educational institutions are endless!—S” (2006, para. 10).

Weblogs, also called blogs, give students a space to reflect about any number of topics. For example, an instructional design professor at San Francisco State University assigns her students to use weblogs to reflect on the readings and to relate course material to their jobs, if possible. Most blog tools allow students to sign in and start writing

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Techno expression assignments using weblogs (blogs)

A weblog would be perfect for a set of activities like those described in the Shorecrest Preparatory School’s Upper Division Catalog:

“Humanities: This segment of the Ninth Grade Wheel is an introductory course which uses a variety of media and activities to promote critical thinking and discussion about several forms of creative expression across time and cultures including visual art, architecture, theater, music, and dance. During the nine week course, students will begin to formulate and express their ideas about the arts beyond “I like …,” or “I don’t like …,” using the philosophies and the vocabularies relevant to these disciplines as introduced in class” (2005, para. 25).

Blog assignment example from an Introduction to Multimedia course at American University:

“300 word summary of why the study of cybernetics is important to society, specifically, the way in which humans interact with machines, and how that might affect the quality of life” (Packer, 2004, para. 17).

Blog assignment example from a course called “e-rhetoric: writing persuasively in a digital world” at Stanford University:

“As part of our experimentation with e-rhetoric, students will create and post to a class weblog. Each student will complete at least 5 individual posts and contribute at least 2 comments to their classmates’ blogs. Keeping the blog will enable the student to track his/her development as a writer and researcher, as well as to gain hands-on experience with one distinct and very popular form of erhetoric” (Alfano, 2005, para. 1).

Advice on using blogs to teach philosophy from Academic Commons:

“Philosophical creativity involves raising the most thought-provoking questions and defending one’s own answers to such questions. Blogging encourages creativity in philosophical debate, especially when each student has his or her own blog, because it allows for fairly spontaneous expression of ideas and it invites students to journey out of their blogs into the blogworld established by another” (Patrick, 2005, para. 6).

If the students use online weblog sites that are not controlled by the school or university, then you will have to decide to what extent you will watch what they post. While students should have full freedom of expression, they may need coaching about what is appropriate or inappropriate material. It is in the students’ best interest to listen, as prospective employers may be looking at these sites as well.

Electronic Portfolios

Instructors can use electronic portfolios to let students demonstrate knowledge and skills, using a collection of assets (e.g., essays, multiple choice exams, reflections, video clips of performance, observation logs submitted by experts, etc.). Following the concepts of universal design for learning (see Chapters 10 and 11), students should be able to choose different assignments to portray their abilities. For instance, a student might pick a history paper to represent his or her writing skills instead of a paper from an English class.

Online Meeting Spaces

Regardless of the online meeting space tool (WebEx, Elluminate, Breeze, Horizon Wimba, etc.), students can express themselves in a number of ways. Many of these environments have options for real-time chat, polling, and voice channels (or a conference call option in conjunction with the online meeting). With these tools, you can allow students to make presentations to the rest of the class by virtually handing them the microphone.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide an unorthodox, but highly effective, type of online meeting space. Todd Bryant (2006) outlines this concept in his article “Using World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs to Foster a Targeted, Social, and Cooperative Approach Toward Language Learning.” He uses a fun environment that allows him to facilitate language learning activities. MMORPGs combine the social networking aspects of MySpace or FaceBook with the entertainment value of video games. In their books, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy and Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning!, James Paul Gee and Mark Prensky look at the educational benefits of learning by doing and forcing students to make decisions in a low-stakes environment. If instructors can find ways to use them for education, MMORPGs offer positive motivation for learning in that they are fun for all ages, genders, and backgrounds. For example, more people over 18 play World of Warcraft than people 18 and under. Instructors can capitalize on the students’ interest in MMORPGs by creating their own learning situations in Second Life and other virtual environments.

Web-Based Audio and Video Clips

Although the end product is an audio or video clip, you can still make strong writing the backbone of these assignments. Examples include digital storytelling, video clips of student presentations or student teaching, and audio clips demonstrating language proficiency. Hall Davidson (2004) describes a scaffolded process in which students do not always need a digital video camera to produce videos that demonstrate understanding of the course material. The Apple Learning Interchange (http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/index.php) contains examples of teacher and student videos from middle school, high school, and higher education.

Podcasting and Vodcasting

Remembering that podcasts and VODcasts are more than just audio and video files, we must think of projects that would require students to produce a series of audio or video files to which people can subscribe via really simple syndication (RSS). If you want to do this as an entire class, individual students can each contribute one audio or video file, then you could make one assignment that requires each student to express his or her opinion about a topic. Each audio or video file will then be posted throughout the term as part of a series. You can also ask groups to contribute several files each over the course of an entire school term.

Example \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Techno Expression Assignments Using Podcasts Before, we had position papers. Now, we can have position podcasts. Ask your students to take a position about a topic in your class. Then have the students sign up, individually or in groups, for a time slot when they will produce an audio or video file to be broadcast. The collection of audio or video position statements will become a compendium of student opinions for that term.

Example of using student podcasts in literature classes from Academic Commons:

“Each podcast assignment consisted of a “podcast pair” (two podcasts); students made a 5-minute reading of a passage from a novel, coupled with a 5-minute discussion of that passage: why the student chose it, what details were most important, what themes and issues the passage raised, and how the passage related to the rest of the novel. These podcasts were posted on a server and all students in the class were required to listen to selected podcasts on what they were reading before coming to class discussions” (Evans, 2006, para. 4).

Each of the technology tools described above has the potential to let students express themselves. Some of them, such as audio and video, may open doors to creativity for students who have only written essays up to that point. Instructors who use media projects report that students are more engaged, especially if they know that other students or the public will view the final product. It is important to make sure that students will have equal access to, and relatively equal ability with, a technology when creating assignments that rely on it.