8.02.2015

There's a Hotkey for That: Teaching Efficiency in Computer Use

Let's face it, adults spend a ridiculous amount of time in front of a computer. To prepare students to take on the "real world," it's imperative that we teach them how to work efficiently on their computers.
The quicker students can locate relevant information, share it, or use it (in whatever manner their profession requires), the more effective they will be in their careers. After all, the sooner employees can create something, the more time they have to polish and refine their work in ways that will help it make an impression on its audience. That will help workers build equity, close deals or earn a promotion.

In order to help my students maneuver efficiently and effectively on the computer, I teach my students the art of hotkeys. I teach them the basics like how to copy, paste, print, find, cut and quit. Then, I add more sophisticated maneuvers like how to shuffle through their open apps, open/close a tab in the internet, employ google search operators, cycle through their open tabs, highlight text, and spotlight search.
macworld
I tell the students that every time they don't have to reach for their mouse, they save time. And time is money. Often, they shrug their shoulders and whine about how silly that is--not the statement time is money, they accept that as gospel--they don't care enough about their mouse use to want to learn new hotkeys. So I pitch the importance of hotkeys in two ways.
First, I use math. I have them consider how much time they spend on a computer each day and how much time they spend maneuvering the mouse. Then I show them how much it saves to know how to hotkey (I'll use an example at the front of them room). Afterwards, I have them calculate how much they save in a sitting, a day, a week, a year, a lifetime of computer use! I say, "What would you do with that time? You'll have it, your neighbor who didn't learn these things won't."
Secondly, I use an example. I ask them to remember the last time an adult asked them for help using technology and to remember how frustrating it is to watch them as they slowly open a browser or an app and take forever to ask their question, that--more often than not--they could have answered themselves if they knew how to use Google. Everyone identifies with this example. Then I tell the students that I experience that everyday when I walk behind them as they use their computers in class!

These examples pique students' interest enough to get them to use more hotkeys. The challenge manifests itself in how to get students to keep using hotkeys. I've done this by including them as "extra-credit" questions on my tests. But, the most effective way to get students to improve their hotkey usage is to create peer-pressure amongst those who are getting it, and those who are still reaching for their mouse. I can create that atmosphere in a classroom, but I wish I could do it across an entire grade or an entire school. Imagine how efficient those students would become in completing homework--especially in schools with 1:1 programs where the hotkeys are the same for each student.

In my opinion, this lesson is even more important for teachers than it is for students. In addition to creating a culture for learning hotkeys and efficiency, teachers themselves can limit their screen time and spend more time teaching, mentoring and building relationships with students--and that's the mark of a great teacher.

8.01.2015

Mass Media: Igniting Lifelong Learning

The most important thing my students can take away from my class is a drive to always be learning. I want students to continue to read, analyze, critique, share and create. Today, I had that great moment of satisfaction when I realized I had succeeded in molding lifelong learners.

The class:
This summer, I taught a course called Mass Media in which we critiqued and created the media at a 6-week summer program. We kept a campus Instagram, Twitter and Wordpress. We worked hard to find efficient ways to keep up with the news and find media outlets where students could follow their individual passions. The students thrived. They transformed themselves into avid news consumers: critiquing, analyzing, offering opinions, and questioning the media and the news.

In one project, I asked students to record a podcast for our campus blog with the intention of telling the whole story, in laymen's terms, of something newsworthy that we had been following in our media course. One group chose to record a podcast about the presidential race (wordpress). We sensed an interest in the ASP community and followed up with a "community discussion" at lunch where those community members who were interested arrived to discuss the 2016 race (twitter). They came in large numbers!

The lifelong learning:
Unfortunately, this short program concluded a week ago today, but the learning did not stop. I had set up a GroupMe with my class when we were working on our final video project (lots of moving parts!). That GroupMe has buzzed everyday since, almost always with educational content. On Wednesday, one student posted a quiz that gauged which politician best suits the quiz-taker. When most of us in the group received Bernie Sanders, another student suggested we all travel to Manchester, NH to hear him in a town-hall meeting (it's a New Hampshire summer program). So, not only did my students continue to talk news/politics beyond the program, they organized a get-together at Bernie Sanders's version of our "community discussion." One third of the class attended.



As if attending a political rally wasn't enough, the four students who attended back-channeled it for the rest of us. Below are a few screenshots from their discussion.
One of my students even asked Mr. Sanders a question! Imagine that--a junior in high-school asking Bernie Sanders about his stance on ISIS and Iran-Israel.

The significance:
Obviously, I was overjoyed with my students' academic interest. I felt I had ignited this learning, this civic engagement, and this community where intellectual conversation is the norm, which is the opposite of how teenagers use new media these days.

I had a "If you build it, they will come" moment in which I realized that 16-17 year-old kids really do want to learn. They care about news and politics. And they want to talk to each other about it. They needed a place where they felt comfortable doing just that. And it turned out to be a GroupMe from a class that I thought had already come and gone.

I'll let their messages speak for themselves: